Exposure to stress during adolescence is a risk factor for developing several psychiatric disorders, many of which involve prefrontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction. The human PFC and analogous rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) continue to mature functionally and anatomically during adolescence, and some of these maturational events coincide with pubertal onset. As developing brain regions are more susceptible to the negative effects of stress, this may make puberty especially vulnerable. To test this, we exposed male and female rats to isolation and restraint stress during the onset of puberty or during the post-pubertal period of adolescence. In young adulthood, both stressed groups and an unstressed control group underwent testing on a battery of tasks to assess emotional and cognitive behaviors, and the volume of the mPFC was quantified postmortem. Factor analysis revealed only subjects stressed peri-pubertally showed a long-term deficiency compared to controls in prepulse inhibition. Additionally, both sexes showed volumetric mPFC decreases following adolescent stress, and these losses were most pronounced in females. Our findings suggest that pubertal onset may be a vulnerable window wherein adolescents are most susceptible to the negative consequences of stress exposure. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of accounting for pubertal status when studying adolescents.

中文翻译：

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青春期开始期间而非之后的青少年压力会损害成年大鼠的前脉冲抑制指数

在青春期暴露于压力是发展几种精神疾病的风险因素，其中许多涉及前额叶皮层 (PFC) 功能障碍。人类 PFC 和类似的啮齿动物内侧前额叶皮层 (mPFC) 在青春期继续在功能和解剖学上成熟，其中一些成熟事件与青春期开始相吻合。由于发育中的大脑区域更容易受到压力的负面影响，这可能会使青春期特别脆弱。为了测试这一点，我们将雄性和雌性大鼠在青春期开始或青春期后时期暴露于隔离和约束压力下。在年轻的成年期，压力组和无压力的对照组都接受了一系列任务的测试，以评估情绪和认知行为，并且在死后量化了 mPFC 的体积。因素分析显示，与对照组相比，只有在青春期受到压力的受试者在前脉冲抑制方面表现出长期缺陷。此外，在青春期压力后，两性都表现出体积 mPFC 下降，这些损失在女性中最为明显。我们的研究结果表明，青春期开始可能是一个脆弱的窗口，青少年最容易受到压力暴露的负面影响。此外，它强调了在研究青少年时考虑青春期状态的重要性。这些损失在女性中最为明显。我们的研究结果表明，青春期开始可能是一个脆弱的窗口，青少年最容易受到压力暴露的负面影响。此外，它强调了在研究青少年时考虑青春期状态的重要性。这些损失在女性中最为明显。我们的研究结果表明，青春期开始可能是一个脆弱的窗口，青少年最容易受到压力暴露的负面影响。此外，它强调了在研究青少年时考虑青春期状态的重要性。