Scientists said that the cause of the development of hypertension - a persistent increase in blood pressure - may be the stress that was transferred by a person at an early age, and the associated changes in the blood flow of the brain. The findings of the researchers were published in the journal Experimental Physiology.

During the study, scientists observed two groups of rats.

In the first category of rodents, growing up was calm, while representatives of the second group experienced a nervous shock at an early age. Subsequently, rats of the second group were characterized by "metamorphosis" in brain activity, as well as altered blood flow in some arteries. The prefrontal cortex in these animals was somewhat less active, while the hypothalamus region, on the contrary, showed increased activity. In the control group, scientists did not record such changes.