The Influence of Psychological Stress in Early Life on Sexual Maturation and Sexual Behavior in Male and Female Rats

Overview

Journal Reprod Med Biol

Specialty Biology

Date 2020 Apr 11

PMID 32273818

Citations 8

Authors

Kiyohito Yano

Toshiya Matsuzaki

Takeshi Iwasa

Yiliyasi Mayila

Rie Yanagihara

Altankhuu Tungalagsuvd

Munkhsaihan Munkhzaya

Takako Tokui

Shuhei Kamada

Aki Hayashi

Rie Masaki

Hidenori Aoki

Kou Tamura

Minoru Irahara

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: We studied the influence of psychological stress during the early neonatal period on sexual maturation and sexual behavior in rats.

Methods: Neonatal male and female rats were divided into control (C) and maternal separation (MS) groups (n = 20-24 per group). The pups in the MS groups were placed in isolation cages for 240 minutes/d from postnatal days 2-11. Vaginal opening (VO) in females and preputial separation (PS) in males (indicators of sexual maturation) were monitored, as was the estrous cycle in females. Thereafter, sexual behavior was monitored twice at 13 and 15 weeks of age.

Results: As for sexual maturation, the onset of PS occurred significantly earlier in the MS group than in the C group, whereas the onset of VO did not differ between the groups. The length of the estrous cycle did not differ between the groups. The frequencies of sexual behaviors did not differ between the groups in either sex.

Conclusions: In conclusion, early-life psychological stress induced by MS advanced sexual maturation in male rats, whereas it did not affect sexual maturation in female rats. On the other hand, early-life psychological stress might not affect sexual behavior in adulthood in either sex.

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