Infertility affects about 8 to 12% of couples of childbearing age around the world, and is recognized as a global public health issue by the WHO. From a psychosocial perspective, infertile individuals experience intense psychological distress, related to emotional disorders, which have repercussions on marital and social relationships. The symptoms persist even after seeking specialized treatment, such as assisted reproductive technologies (ART). While the stress impact of ART outcome has been comprehensively studied, the role of supraphysiological concentrations of gonadal hormones on stress response, remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a single ovarian stimulation on the stress response in rats. To mimic the context of ART in rodents, female rats were submitted to the superovulation (150 UI/kg of PMSG and 75 UI/kg of hCG) and then to psychogenic stress (restraint stress for 30 min/day, repeated for three days). Anxiety-like behavior was evaluated in the elevated plus-maze, and neuronal activation in the stress-related brain areas assessed by Fos protein immunoreactivity. Corticosterone, estradiol, progesterone and corpora lutea were quantified. Data were analyzed using Generalized Linear Model (GzLM). Our findings indicate anxiolytic-like and protective effects of supraphysiological concentrations of gonadal hormones induced by a single ovarian stimulation on stress response. An activation of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal response inhibitory pathways, with participation of the prefrontal cortex, basomedial amygdala, lateral septum, medial preoptic area, dorsomedial and paraventricular hypothalamus, was detected.

不育症影响了全球约8至12％的育龄夫妇，并且被世界卫生组织确认为全球公共卫生问题。从社会心理的角度来看，不育个体会遭受与情感障碍有关的强烈心理困扰，这会对婚姻和社会关系产生影响。即使寻求专门的治疗，例如辅助生殖技术（ART），症状也仍然存在。尽管已经全面研究了ART结局对应激的影响，但尚未阐明性腺激素超生理浓度对应激反应的作用。本研究旨在评估单次卵巢刺激对大鼠应激反应的影响。为了模仿啮齿动物的抗逆转录病毒疗法，雌性大鼠接受超排卵（150 UI / kg PMSG和75 UI / kg hCG），然后承受精神压力（约束压力30分钟/天，重复三天）。在升高的迷宫中评估了焦虑样行为，并通过Fos蛋白免疫反应性评估了应激相关脑区域的神经元激活。定量皮质酮，雌二醇，孕酮和黄体。使用广义线性模型（GzLM）分析数据。我们的发现表明，单次卵巢刺激引起的性腺激素超生理浓度的抗焦虑样和保护作用对应激反应。下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺反应抑制途径的激活，涉及前额叶皮层，基底体杏仁核，外侧隔，视前内侧区域，