What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Other. Population: Early life stress. Intervention: Early life stress (maternal separation with early weaning) vs. Normally reared mice. Primary outcome: Autonomic function (HR, BP, LMA, HRV, sBRS) basally and during acute behavioral stress.

What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to understand how early life stress affects autonomic function in adult male mice, particularly in response to stressors and throughout the circadian cycle.

July 5, 2026

Early Life Stress Blunts Time Of Day Specific Autonomic Function In Adult Male Mice

Key Result

Exposure to early life stress in adult male mice significantly decreased total and low frequency power of heart rate variability basally and in response to acute behavioral stress.

Key Points

The study aims to understand how early life stress affects autonomic function in adult male mice, particularly in response to stressors and throughout the circadian cycle.
Used maternal separation with early weaning as the model for early life stress.
Measured heart rate, blood pressure, locomotor activity, heart rate variability, and baroreceptor sensitivity in adult male mice.
Conducted spectral analysis of heart rate variability and assessed reactions to cage switch stress.
MSEW mice had lower total and low frequency power in HR variability during the light period, showing disrupted diurnal rhythms.
Under stress, MSEW mice displayed significantly decreased total, low frequency, and high frequency power in HR variability compared to normally reared mice.

Structured PICO

Does early life stress disrupt autonomic function basally and in response to acute behavioral stress in adult male mice?

Population

Adult male mice subjected to maternal separation with early weaning to evaluate the effects of early life stress on autonomic function.

Exposure

Maternal separation with early weaning (MSEW) as a model of early life stress (ELS)

Comparator

Normally reared (NR) mice

Outcome

Autonomic function including heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), locomotor activity (LMA), heart rate variability (HRV), and spontaneous baroreceptor sensitivity (sBRS) at baseline and in response to acute behavioral stress (cage switch stress)surrogate

Early life stress in mice disrupts autonomic function basally and in response to acute behavioral stress in a time-of-day dependent manner, which may contribute to cardiovascular disease risk.

Abstract

Early life stress (ELS) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including hypertension. The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that exposure to ELS disrupts autonomic function in adult mice at baseline and in response to an acute behavioral stressor. Using the mouse model of ELS, maternal separation with early weaning (MSEW), we determined the effects of ELS on heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), locomotor activity (LMA), HR variability (HRV) and spontaneous baroreceptor sensitivity (sBRS) in adult male mice. Under basal conditions, normally reared (NR) and MSEW mice had similar HR, BP, LMA, and sBRS when characterized at different phases of the circadian cycle. Spectral analysis of HRV indicated that MSEW mice had significantly lower total power and low frequency (LF) power during the inactive or light period as well as a loss of diurnal rhythm of LF power compared to NR mice. When subjected to an acute behavioral stress, cage switch stress (CSS), NR and MSEW mice showed similar changes in HR, BP, and LMA. Frequency domain analysis of HRV indicated that total, LF, and high frequency power during CSS and recovery from CSS were all significantly decreased in MSEW mice compared to NR mice. Taken together, these findings indicate that exposure to ELS in mice disrupts autonomic function basally and in response to an acute behavioral stress in a time-of-day dependent manner.

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