Neonatal rearing conditions distinctly shape locus coeruleus neuronal activity, dendritic arborization, and sensitivity to corticotrophin-releasing factor.

Early life events influence vulnerability to psychiatric illness. This has been modelled in rats and it has been demonstrated that different durations of maternal separation shape adult endocrine and behavioural stress reactivity. One system through which maternal separation may act is the locus coeruleus (LC)-norepinephrine system that regulates emotional arousal. Here we demonstrate that different durations of maternal separation have distinct effects on LC physiology and dendritic morphology. Rat pups were separated from the dam for 15 min/d (HMS-15) or 180 min/d (HMS-180) from post-natal days 2-14. Others were either undisturbed (HMS-0) or were vendor-purchased controls. LC characteristics were compared at age 22-35 d using whole-cell recordings in vitro. Cells were filled with biocytin for morphological analysis. LC neurons of HMS-180 rats were tonically activated compared to HMS-15 and control rats, with firing rates that were 2-fold higher than these groups. Corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) application did not further activate LC neurons of HMS-180 rats but increased LC firing rate in HMS-0 and control rats. LC neurons of HMS-15 rats were resistant to excitation by CRF. Maternal separation also affected LC dendritic morphology. LC dendrites of HMS-15 rats exhibited less branching and decreased total dendritic length, an effect that could decrease the probability of contacting limbic afferents that terminate in the pericoerulear region. This effect may provide a structural basis for an attenuated magnitude of emotional arousal. Together, these results demonstrate long-term consequences of early life events on the LC-norepinephrine system that may shape adult behaviour.

Exogenous prenatal corticosterone exposure mimics the effects of prenatal stress on adult brain stress response systems and fear extinction behavior.

Exposure to early-life stress is a risk factor for the development of cognitive and emotional disorders later in life. We previously demonstrated that prenatal stress (PNS) in rats results in long-term, stable changes in central stress-response systems and impairs the ability to extinguish conditioned fear responding, a component of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Maternal corticosterone (CORT), released during prenatal stress, is a possible mediator of these effects. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether fetal exposure to CORT at levels induced by PNS is sufficient to alter the development of adult stress neurobiology and fear extinction behavior. Pregnant dams were subject to either PNS (60 min immobilization/day from ED 14-21) or a daily injection of CORT (10mg/kg), which approximated both fetal and maternal plasma CORT levels elicited during PNS. Control dams were given injections of oil vehicle. Male offspring were allowed to grow to adulthood undisturbed, at which point they were sacrificed and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), hippocampus, hypothalamus, and a section of the rostral pons containing the locus coeruleus (LC) were dissected. PNS and prenatal CORT treatment decreased glucocorticoid receptor protein levels in the mPFC, hippocampus, and hypothalamus when compared to control offspring. Both treatments also decreased tyrosine hydroxylase levels in the LC. Finally, the effect of prenatal CORT exposure on fear extinction behavior was examined following chronic stress. Prenatal CORT impaired both acquisition and recall of cue-conditioned fear extinction. This effect was additive to the impairment induced by previous chronic stress. Thus, these data suggest that fetal exposure to high levels of maternal CORT is responsible for many of the lasting neurobiological consequences of PNS as they relate to the processes underlying extinction of learned fear. The data further suggest that adverse prenatal environments constitute a risk factor for PTSD-like symptomatology, especially when combined with chronic stressors later in life.