PRENATAL STRESS INCREASES CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING FACTOR (CRF) CONTENT AND RELEASE IN RAT AMYGDALA MINCES

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a neuropeptide found throughou t the central nervous system that has a proposed role in modulating em otional and behavioral states, including stress and anxiety. The amygd ala, which is important in the control of emotional and autonomic resp onses to stress, contains CRF nerve terminals, CRF cell bodies, and CR F receptors. In rats, exposure to prenatal stress results in offspring that display a hyperemotional state and increased anxiety. In this st udy the effects of prenatal stress on CRF release was measured in amyg dala minces (1 mm(3)) obtained from adult (8-16 weeks of age) male off spring of darns subjected to daily saline injection (0.1 ml, s.c.) fro m gestational day 14 to 21. CRF release from amygdala was time- and ca lcium-dependent, and stimulated by KCl-induced depolarization. Depolar ization-induced CRF release was significantly increased by 42% from th e amygdala of prenatally stressed offspring versus controls. Prenatall y stressed offspring also showed a 49% increase in CRF levels in the a mygdala. The increased amounts of CRF released in response to depolari zation were likely the consequence of increased tissue content of CRF, as fractional release under basal or KCI-stimulated conditions was no t different in the prenatal stress group versus control. This suggests that a long-lasting up-reguls,tion of the CRFergic neurotransmission may occur in the amygdala, which may be important in the generation of hyperemotional offspring after exposure to prenatal stress.