Epidemiological surveys have shown a strong relationship between maternal stress and offspring's mood disorders. Growing evidence suggested that environmental enrichment (EE) improves cognitive function in models of psychiatric and neurological disorders. However, the potential protective effects of gestational EE on social stress-elicited mood disorders in offspring have not been studied. Knowing that the undeveloped brain is more sensitive to gestational environmental stimuli, we hypothesized that initiating cognitive stimulation, during gestation, would protect against social stress-induced behavioral alterations in adulthood. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of gestational EE on social stress-elicited anxiety- and ethanol-related behaviors in adult offspring. EE consisted of free access, of dams, to tubular devices of different shapes, colors, and sizes that were changed regularly. After birth and weaning, young adult offspring were exposed to 19 days of social stress and anxiety-like behavior was evaluated by elevated plus maze, open field, and marbles burying tests. The two-bottle choice (TBC) drinking paradigm was used to assess stress-induced ethanol intake. Results showed that gestational EE prevented social stress-elicited anxiogenic-like effects with no differences in spontaneous locomotor activity. Moreover, in the TBC paradigm, mice pre-exposed to EE consistently showed a significantly decreased consumption and preference for ethanol with no effects on tastants' intakes. Interestingly, gestational EE increased serum BDNF levels, which showed a correlation with measures of anxiety- and ethanol-related behaviors. These findings indicate that some neurodevelopmental changes associated with prenatal EE may counteract adult social stress-induced behavioral alterations through a BDNF mechanism. Therefore, we propose that gestational EE has significant protective and beneficial effects on social stress-induced cognitive impairment. It can also alleviate anxiety-like behavior and subsequent excessive alcohol consumption.

流行病学调查显示，母亲的压力与后代的情绪障碍之间存在密切关系。越来越多的证据表明，环境丰富（EE）可以改善精神和神经疾病模型的认知功能。然而，妊娠期 EE 对后代社会压力引起的情绪障碍的潜在保护作用尚未研究。我们知道未发育的大脑对妊娠环境刺激更加敏感，因此我们假设在妊娠期间启动认知刺激可以防止成年后社会压力引起的行为改变。因此，本研究旨在探讨妊娠期 EE 对成年后代社会压力引起的焦虑和乙醇相关行为的影响。EE 包括自由进入水坝、定期更换不同形状、颜色和尺寸的管状装置。出生和断奶后，年轻的成年后代承受 19 天的社会压力，并通过高架十字迷宫、开放场地和弹珠埋藏测试评估焦虑样行为。两瓶选择（TBC）饮酒范例用于评估压力诱导的乙醇摄入量。结果表明，妊娠期 EE 可预防社会压力引起的焦虑样效应，且自发运动活动没有差异。此外，在 TBC 范式中，预先暴露于 EE 的小鼠始终表现出明显减少的乙醇消耗和偏好，但对促味剂的摄入量没有影响。有趣的是，妊娠期 EE 增加了血清 BDNF 水平，这表明与焦虑和乙醇相关行为的测量相关。这些发现表明，与产前 EE 相关的一些神经发育变化可能通过 BDNF 机制抵消成人社会压力引起的行为改变。因此，我们认为妊娠期EE对社会压力引起的认知障碍具有显着的保护和有益作用。它还可以减轻焦虑样行为和随后的过量饮酒。