Effects of Prenatal Stress and 17β-Estradiol on Anxiety and Depressive Behavior in Ovariectomized Female Rats

We report here studies of the actions of 17β-estradiol in relation to regulation of the level of anxiety and depression-like behavior in experimental estrogen deficit in female rats born to mothers subjected to restraint stress for 1 h with increased illumination from day 15 to day 19 of pregnancy. Adult control and prenatally stressed ovariectomized females received 17β-estradiol (0.5 μg/animal) for 14 days. Ovariectomy was found to eliminate the differences between control and prenatally stressed females in terms of the level of anxiety in the elevated plus maze and the duration of immobility in the forced swimming test. Administration of 17β-estradiol at this dose had no significant effect on the behavior of control ovariectomized females, while hormone injections in prenatally stressed animals led to significant reductions in the levels of anxiety and behavioral depressivity. These data provide evidence that prenatally stressed females are more sensitive to 17β-estradiol replacement therapy. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York.