title: Effects of undernutrition during suckling and of novelty on hypothalamic beta-endorphin immunoreactivity in young rats.
abstract: The present report examines the effect of undernutrition and of exposure to an open-field (novelty) on hypothalamic beta-endorphin immunoreactivity in 21-day old rats. The effect of posttraining beta-endorphin administration in open-field performance was also studied. Undernutrition and novelty had no effect on hypothalamic beta-endorphin. Post-training administration of beta-endorphin did not alter the performance of rats in either nutritional group in the test session. The results suggest that the hypothalamic beta-endorphinergic system of young rats is not activated by novelty and that the effect of undernutrition on this system found in adult rats is not detectable at this age.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vendite
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Souza
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001615:beta-Endorphin