Maternal deprivation and early handling affect density of calcium binding protein-containing neurons in selected brain regions and emotional behavior in periadolescent rats
Brain Chemistry
Male
Neurons
Aging
Neuronal Plasticity
Behavior, Animal
Maternal Deprivation
amygdala; anxiety; calcium binding proteins; hippocampus; maternal separation; paraventricular nucleus
Calcium-Binding Proteins
Emotions
Brain
Cell Count
Handling, Psychological
Anxiety Disorders
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Neural Pathways
Limbic System
Animals
Calcium
Female
Affective Symptoms
Cell Proliferation
DOI:
10.1016/j.neuroscience.2006.12.042
Publication Date:
2007-02-03T02:46:33Z
AUTHORS (8)
ABSTRACT
Adverse early life experiences can induce neurochemical changes that may underlie modifications in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responsiveness, emotionality and cognition. Here, we investigated the expression of the calcium binding proteins (CBPs) calretinin, calbindin and parvalbumin, which identify subpopulations of GABAergic neurons and serve important functional roles by buffering intracellular calcium levels, following brief (early handling) and long (maternal deprivation) periods of maternal separation, as compared with non-handled controls. CBP-expressing neurons were analyzed in brain regions related to stress and anxiety. Emotionality was assessed in parallel using the social interaction test. Analyses were carried out at periadolescence, an important phase for the development of brain areas involved in stress responses. Our results indicate that density of CBP-immunoreactive neurons decreases in the paraventricular region of deprived rats but increases in the hippocampus and lateral amygdala of both early-handled and deprived rats when compared with controls. Emotionality is reduced in both early-handled and deprived animals. In conclusion, early handling and deprivation led to neurochemical and behavioral changes linked to stress-sensitive brain regions. These data suggest that the effects of early experiences on CBP containing neurons might contribute to the functional changes of neuronal circuits involved in emotional response.
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