Handbook of Clinical Gender Medicine. Группа авторов

Читать онлайн.
Название Handbook of Clinical Gender Medicine
Автор произведения Группа авторов
Жанр Зарубежная психология
Серия
Издательство Зарубежная психология
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9783805599306



Скачать книгу

hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms have been observed in children and young adolescents whose mothers were suffering from increased anxiety during pregnancy and more often in males than in females. Although systems involving serotonergic and dopaminergic activity may also be involved, the most likely physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms by which maternal stress and PTSD affect offspring is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In essence, an increase in cortisol secretion in a person under stress is an adequate response as long as an intact feedback mechanism causes cortisol levels to decrease once the danger is over. However, if this feedback mechanism is impaired, adaptation to stress becomes inadequate. Steroid receptors are abundant in the hippocampus where mediation of feedback is concentrated. A reduction of steroid receptors in this area would affect an adequate feedback mechanism and could therefore interfere with adequate adaption to stress and the environment. Epigenetic processes may occur in the fetal hippocampus as a result of maternal stress which actually change the functional state of glucocorticoid receptors, cause a reduced feedback response, and consequently inadequately increase the cortisol response to stress later in life. This changed set point in the function of the HPA axis could then be one possible etiology for ADHD. Stress can, of course, not be totally avoided during pregnancy and a small to moderate stress level may actually be beneficial to the mental and physical development of offspring. This has been demonstrated by DiPietro et al. [19] who studied pregnant women who lived in a financially and emotionally stable environment but were exposed to moderately stressful situations. They reported that mild to moderate stress may enhance fetal maturation in healthy populations. Prenatal maternal stress may also lead to premature delivery and small-for-gestational-age babies. These in turn are risk factors for impaired cognitive development and may also affect neonatal neurobehavior.

      The Pregnant Woman as an Information Source for the Growing Fetus

      Intrauterine Environment and IQ

      Intrauterine Environment and Its Influence on Subsequent Sexuality

      Fetal Programming as a‘Species Survival’Strategy