en Neurophysiology/Pharmacology Neurophysiology/Pharmacology Experimental research article Experimental research article <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>Introduction:</strong> Oxytocin (OXT) has attracted attention as an effective treatment for anxiety and depression. It also can prevent 3-NP-induced anxiety and depression. However, the effects of OXT can be context-dependent. The objective of this investigation was to explore how prenatal stress (PS) context modulates the effectiveness of OXT in mitigating anxiety-and depression-like behaviors induced by 3-NP, as well as alterations in antioxidant levels. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>Methods: </strong>The dams underwent PS or PS+3NP treatments, and the effects of OXT on the anxiety-like behavior, and depression-like behavior in these treatment groups were evaluated via elevated plus maze and forced swim test respectively. The reduced glutathione (GSH) level was also measured in the striatum, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>Results: </strong>We found that PS per se and 3-NP in the context of PS increased anxiety and depression. These groups also had lower GSH levels in the brain regions examined. OXT pretreatment markedly increased the behavioral changes in the PS group and ameliorated the antioxidant changes. However, OXT pretreatment could not improve 3-NP-induced behavioral and GSH level changes in the context of PS. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><strong>Conclusion:</strong> These findings indicate that OXT improves PS-induced anxiety and depression and the antioxidant level changes, but we found that PS per se thwarts the protective effects of OXT in the 3-NP-induced anxiety and depression</span></span></p> Oxytocin, 3-NP, Prenatal stress, Depression, Anxiety 63 73 http://ppj.phypha.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2362-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Fariba Khodagholi khodagholi@sbmu.ac.ir 3200319475328460036993 3200319475328460036993 No Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ali Maleki ali.maleki7424@gmail.com 3200319475328460036994 3200319475328460036994 No Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Fereshteh Motamedi motamedi@ams.ac.ir 3200319475328460036995 3200319475328460036995 No Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Fatemeh Nasehi fatemehnasehi98@gmail.com 3200319475328460036996 3200319475328460036996 No NeuroBiology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Arman Zeinaddini Meymand armanmeymandzd@gmail.com 3200319475328460036997 3200319475328460036997 No NeuroBiology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Forough Foolad forough.foolad@gmail.com 3200319475328460036998 3200319475328460036998 No Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran Mehdi Moslemi mehdimoslemi83@yahoo.com 3200319475328460036999 3200319475328460036999 Yes Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran