title: Maternal isolation alters the expression of neural proteins during development: 'Stroking' stimulation reverses these effects.
abstract: Rat pups reared apart from their siblings, mother, and nest environment in the 'pup-in-a-cup' regime show many alterations in behavior reminiscent of the Institutional Inattention/Overactivity Syndrome that characterizes children whose first few months are spent in institutions. In this report, we compare mother-reared (MR) and artificially reared (AR) male rats in concentrations and distributions of brain proteins that are involved in normal brain development. When assessed during the juvenile period and in adulthood, AR animals showed elevations in Neu-N (a neuronal marker) and in S-100 (an astrocyte marker) but reductions in synaptophysin (synapse protein), N-CAM (cell-adhesion molecule), GAP-43 (axon elongation protein), and BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) in comparison to MR controls in many brain sites involved in attention, impulsivity, activity, and social behavior. Daily 'licking-like' stimulation provided to AR animals (AR-MAX) throughout early development that reverses many of the behavioral deficits, also reverses many of the isolation effects on brain proteins. Study 2 showed that elevations in the number of neurons in combination with decreases in functionality are associated with a reduction in neuronal pruning and apoptosis during the very early post-partum period in AR animals and their reversal through daily 'licking-like' stimulation.
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd N, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 1C6.
authors.forename: Diptendu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: Munmun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chatterjee-Chakraborty
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cauchi
authors.forename: Cynthia B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: de Medeiros
authors.forename: Alison S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Fleming
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D008297:Male; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins