title: Early adversity alters attention and locomotion in adult Sprague-Dawley rats.
abstract: This study investigated the effects of prenatal stress and its interaction with artificial rearing (AR) on adult rat behavior. Pregnant dams underwent restraint stress from Gestational Day 10 to 21. After parturition, pups were raised by their mothers or in the AR paradigm, with or without stroking stimulation. In adulthood, rats were tested on prepulse inhibition (PPI), locomotor activity, elevated plus-maze, and spatial working memory. There were main effects and interactions of both prenatal stress and AR on activity. Additional stimulation reduced activity in nonstressed AR rats but increased activity in prenatally stressed AR rats. AR altered PPI and plus-maze behavior whereas additional stimulation partially reversed these effects. This study demonstrates that prenatal experiences can modulate the effects of postnatal treatments.
authors.affiliation: Program in Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Christie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: Vedran
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lovic
authors.forename: Alison S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Fleming
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley / Q000502:physiology; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology; D012149:Restraint, Physical / Q000379:methods; D012737:Sex Factors; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors