Stress during development alters anxiety-like behavior and hippocampal neurotransmission in male and female rats

Autor: Paula Ayako Tiba, Deborah Suchecki, Maria da Graça Naffah-Mazacoratti, Jair de Jesus Mari, Marcelo Feijó de Mello, Jair Borges Barbosa Neto, Eduardo Ferreira Castro-Neto, Claudia de Brito Faturi
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Neuropharmacology. 62:518-526
ISSN: 0028-3908
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.09.011
Popis: Epidemiological data indicate that early stress increases vulnerability to psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. In the present study we sought to investigate the long-term behavioral and neurochemical consequences of increased and sustained corticosterone levels induced by a 24 h bout of maternal deprivation (DEP) imposed on postnatal day 11 (DEP11). As adults, animals were exposed to the elevated plus maze for assessment of anxiety-like behavior and corticosterone response to this challenge, or decapitated for determination of monoamines and amino acid neurotransmitters content in the hippocampus by HPLC method. The results showed that DEP11 male and female rats displayed increased time in the central hub of the maze and more risk assessment behavior, reflecting increased anxiety-like behavior; in addition, these animals continuously secreted corticosterone in response to the behavioral test until the latest time-point, e.g., 60 min post-stress. In males, maternal deprivation increased aspartate and glutamate levels and reduced taurine levels compared to non-deprived (NDEP) rats. DEP11 females displayed reduced noradrenaline, aspartate and GABA levels compared to NDEP counterparts. These results indicate that maternal deprivation at 11 days of age produced changes in hippocampal neurotransmission that may mediate the increased anxiety-like behavior observed in male and female deprived rats. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Anxiety and Depression'.
Databáze: OpenAIRE