Interventions in the neonatal environment in rats and their relationship to behavior in adulthood and maternal behavior



Document title: Interventions in the neonatal environment in rats and their relationship to behavior in adulthood and maternal behavior
Journal: Psychology & neuroscience
Database: CLASE
System number: 000322780
ISSN: 1983-3288
Authors: 1
1
2
1
3
Institutions: 1Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Brasil
2Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Brasil
3Universidade Federal de Ciencias da Saude de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Brasil
Year:
Volumen: 3
Number: 1
Pages: 73-78
Country: Brasil
Language: Inglés
Document type: Artículo
Approach: Analítico
English abstract The objective of this study was to assess the role of environmental/nest components and maternal behavior after several neonatal interventions on subsequent behavioral responses. Male Wistar rats were subjected to different neonatal interventions and were later evaluated for innate fear-like behavior in adulthood. The experimental groups included nonhandled (i.e., animals were not touched), handled (i.e., animals were separated from their mother, removed from the nest, and handled for 10 min/day), brief maternal separation (i.e., the mother was removed from the homecage for 10 min/day, and the pups remained in their cages without being touched), and tactile stimulation (i.e., the mother was removed from the homecage, and pups were stimulated with a brush for 10 min/day within the nest). The mother’s behavior was recorded during the neonatal period, and the male pups were later tested in the open field as adults. The results revealed that only mothers whose pups were handled had an increase in the duration of licking behavior compared with the other groups. In the open field test, we observed decreased behavioral innate fear-like responses in male adults in the handled and brief separation groups compared with the others groups. Our results confirm that interventions during the neonatal period cause stable behavioral changes (decreased innate fear) in adulthood and that absent or excessive tactile stimulation appears to be an important factor. Both repeated disruption of the mother-infant relationship and withdrawal from the environment/nest are factors that exert profound effects on the development of the animals
Disciplines: Psicología
Keyword: Psicofisiología,
Conducta maternal,
Psicología experimental,
Separación corta,
Manejo neonatal,
Estimulacion tactíl,
Ratas,
Miedo innato,
Consecuencias
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