Effects of prenatal stress on avoidance acquisition, open-field performance and lordotic behavior in male rats

Abstract

Prenatal stress enhanced lordotic behavior potentials in male rats but did not feminize patterns of active avoidance acquisition or open-field performance. These results suggest that prenatal stress selectively feminizes some but not all behavior patterns shown to differentiate under the influence of perinatal gonadal hormones. In the rat, the critical period for the differentiation of active avoidance behavior appears to span prenatal and early neonatal ontogeny.