Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • ZME & more
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
Home Science Biology

How maternal testosterone levels can cause anxiety in offspring

Women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) show elevated levels of testosterone and testosterone derivatives in their systems, as well as an increased risk of anxiety and depression. As the offspring of these women (both sons and daughters) show similar symptoms, it's been believed that PCOS can be transmitted through genetic code. However, a new idea comes to question this -- specifically, the fact that the fetuses of mothers with PCOS are gestating in high levels of testosterone is what causes these symptoms.

by Alexandru Micu
November 11, 2015
in Biology, Chemistry, Health, Mind & Brain, Neurology, News, Science, Studies
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) show elevated levels of testosterone and testosterone derivatives in their systems, as well as an increased risk of anxiety and depression. As the offspring of these women (both sons and daughters) show similar symptoms, it’s been believed that PCOS can be transmitted through genetic code. However, a new idea comes to question this — specifically, the fact that the fetuses of mothers with PCOS are gestating in high levels of testosterone is what causes these symptoms.

Image via theodysseyonline

High levels of maternal testosterone during gestation are known to affect brain morphology and function in offspring and research has been able to link it to feelings of anxiety in both mice and humans. An international team of researchers studied the levels of androgen receptors in different brain regions associated with anxiety and depression to find out exactly how maternal testosterone and anxiety are linked.

The offspring of rats that showed elevated levels of testosterone were anxious, with behavior indicative of this much more pronounced in female baby rats than male babies. The team found that the excess testosterone during gestation diminished the ability of the child to respond to the hormone — much like how you stop registering smell or taste if it persists for too long.

Messenger RNA levels (that encode testosterone receptors information and other similar molecules) were lower in the amygdalae and hippocampuses of the offspring, with a stronger effect on the females. The amygdala in particular has an important role to play in processing emotions, and dysfunctionalities here have been linked with several anxiety disorders.

ALSO READ:  Ancient bone suggests humans migrated to North America with their dogs

To confirm that testosterone can have these effects, the researchers recapitulated both the anxiety and the diminished receptor levels in adult female mice by injecting them with testosterone.

“The maternal testosterone dose used may masculinize the brain of female offspring,” the authors conclude about their rat model.

But it’s not just a masculinization — levels of a serotonin receptors were similar in the amygdalae and hippocampuses of testosterone treated mice of both sexes, but less than those of the control group.

This suggests that high testosterone levels in women suffering from PCOS during gestation cause anxiety in two generations. It makes the females themselves anxious, and it can alter the brain morphology of offspring, leading to anxiety disorders. And while the children do not inherit the higher level of testosterone in their system, they show less receptors for the hormone in their brain, influencing their behavious.

This is a level of transmission that is not genetic, but it’s clearly inheritable.

 

Tags: anxietybraindepressionGestationtestosterone

ShareTweetShare
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • ZME & more

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • ZME & more
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.