Effect of complete maternal and littermate deprivation on morphine-induced Fos-immunoreactivity in the adult male rat brain.
Previous research has demonstrated that rats reared in isolation from their dam and littermates show altered behavioral responsiveness to both natural and drug-mediated rewards. This study examined the effects of complete maternal deprivation through the use of artificial rearing on neural activation after acute morphine exposure in adulthood. Male rats were either artificially reared (AR) or maternally reared (MR) from postnatal day 5 to 21. In adulthood (4 mo old), rats received a single injection of morphine sulfate (10 mg/kg) or equivolume saline 2 h before perfusion and brain extraction. Neural activation was quantified using Fos immunohistochemistry. Analyses of several brain regions revealed a consistent pattern of differences between AR and MR rats. Specifically, relative to MR rats, AR rats showed significantly greater morphine-induced Fos-immunoreactivity in brain regions associated with the mesocorticolimbic "reward" pathway. These results support the hypothesis that functional activity in reward neurocircuitry can be altered by early life experience.
Rana
Shadna A
SA
Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. rans@ucalgary.ca
Mallet
Paul E
PE
Robertson
Barbara-Anne
BA
Wainwright
Patricia E
PE
D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012201:Reward; D012801:Sibling Relations
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D009020:Morphine