The effects of developmental stress on perineuronal nets, the immune system, and behavioral outcomes in adult Sprague Dawley rats

This dissertation investigated how developmental stress impacts fear-related, social behavior, and synaptic plasticity in adulthood, using a Sprague Dawley rat model. I also examined whether the immune system, specifically microglia can mediate behavioral changes that result from developmental stress. Overall, the findings of my dissertation suggest that developmental stress can increase the risk for long-term changes in fear-related behavior (Chapter 2), social behavior and synaptic plasticity (Chapter 3). However, stress can also lead to adaptive outcomes, where adult behavior is unaffected after developmental stress, which may depend on the timing of stress exposure during brain development (Chapter 4). While our results do not directly support a role for microglia in mediating these effects, future research is needed to determine how these immune system cells may contribute to the impact of prenatal and adolescent stress.