ArticlePsychopharmacology2012
The bed nucleus of stria terminalis and the amygdala as targets of antenatal glucocorticoids: implications for fear and anxiety responses.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Long-term neuropathological and/or neurobehavioral effects of antenatal corticosteroid therapy in animal models: a systematic review.Pediatric research · 2020Pooled it
- Impact of Antenatal Corticosteroids on Brain Function and Underlying Mechanisms in Preclinical Studies: Protocol for a Systematic Review.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Glucocorticoids and cell fate in the developing brain: Neuroendocrine mechanisms shaping developmental trajectories.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2026Review
- Defining functional states and roles of microglia in neuropsychiatric disorders.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2026Review
- Stress in utero: prenatal dexamethasone exposure causes greater structural gliovascular alterations in female offspring than in males.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- SNX27: A trans-species cognitive modulator with implications for anxiety and stress susceptibility.Neurobiology of stress · 2024Article
- Lasting impact of postnatal maternal separation on the developing BNST: Lifelong socioemotional consequences.Neuropharmacology · 2023Review
- Review
- Resilience to stress and sex-specific remodeling of microglia and neuronal morphology in a rat model of anxiety and anhedonia.Neurobiology of stress · 2021Article
- Prenatal Glucocorticoid-Exposed Infants Do Not Show an Age-Typical Fear Bias at 8 Months of Age - Preliminary Findings From the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- Life-Course Contribution of Prenatal Stress in Regulating the Neural Modulation Network Underlying the Prepulse Inhibition of the Acoustic Startle Reflex in Male Alzheimer's Disease Mice.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2020Article
- Gestational Stress Augments Postpartum β-Amyloid Pathology and Cognitive Decline in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2019Article
- A Single Course of Synthetic Glucocorticoids in Pregnant Guinea Pigs Programs Behavior and Stress Response in Two Generations of Offspring.Endocrinology · 2018Article
- Maternal hormonal milieu influence on fetal brain development.Brain and behavior · 2018Review
- Adenosine AFrontiers in pharmacology · 2018Article
- Mild Prenatal Stress Causes Emotional and Brain Structural Modifications in Rats of Both Sexes.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2018Article
- [Effect of corticosterone on lissencephaly 1 expression in developing cerebral cortical neurons of fetal rats cultured in vitro].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2017Article
- Adenosine AMolecular psychiatry · 2017Article
- Overshadowed by the amygdala: the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis emerges as key to psychiatric disorders.Molecular psychiatry · 2016Review
- Models of Intergenerational and Transgenerational Transmission of Risk for Psychopathology in Mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleSeveral human and experimental studies have shown that early life adverse events can shape physical and mental health in adulthood. Stress or elevated levels of glucocorticoids (GCs) during critical periods of development seem to contribute for the appearance of neurospyschiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression, albeit the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated.
objectivesThe aim of the present study was to determine the long-term effect of prenatal exposure to dexamethasone- DEX (synthetic GC widely used in clinics) in fear and anxious behavior and identify the neurochemical, morphological and molecular correlates.
resultsPrenatal exposure to DEX triggers a hyperanxious phenotype and altered fear behavior in adulthood. These behavioral traits were correlated with increased volume of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), particularly the anteromedial subdivision which presented increased dendritic length; in parallel, we found an increased expression of synapsin and NCAM in the BNST of these animals. Remarkably, DEX effects were opposite in the amygdala, as this region presented reduced volume due to significant dendritic atrophy. Albeit no differences were found in dopamine and its metabolite levels in the BNST, this neurotransmitter was substantially reduced in the amygdala, which also presented an up-regulation of dopamine receptor 2.
conclusionsAltogether, our results show that in utero DEX exposure can modulate anxiety and fear behavior in parallel with significant morphological, neurochemical and molecular changes; importantly, GCs seem to differentially affect distinct brain regions involved in this type of behaviors.
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