title: Stress during development alters anxiety-like behavior and hippocampal neurotransmission in male and female rats.
abstract: Epidemiological data indicate that early stress increases vulnerability to psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. In the present study we sought to investigate the long-term behavioral and neurochemical consequences of increased and sustained corticosterone levels induced by a 24 h bout of maternal deprivation (DEP) imposed on postnatal day 11 (DEP11). As adults, animals were exposed to the elevated plus maze for assessment of anxiety-like behavior and corticosterone response to this challenge, or decapitated for determination of monoamines and amino acid neurotransmitters content in the hippocampus by HPLC method. The results showed that DEP11 male and female rats displayed increased time in the central hub of the maze and more risk assessment behavior, reflecting increased anxiety-like behavior; in addition, these animals continuously secreted corticosterone in response to the behavioral test until the latest time-point, e.g., 60 min post-stress. In males, maternal deprivation increased aspartate and glutamate levels and reduced taurine levels compared to non-deprived (NDEP) rats. DEP11 females displayed reduced noradrenaline, aspartate and GABA levels compared to NDEP counterparts. These results indicate that maternal deprivation at 11 days of age produced changes in hippocampal neurotransmission that may mediate the increased anxiety-like behavior observed in male and female deprived rats. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Anxiety and Depression'.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jair B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Barbosa Neto
authors.forename: Paula A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Tiba
authors.forename: Claudia B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Faturi
authors.forename: Eduardo F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: de Castro-Neto
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: da Graça Naffah-Mazacoratti
authors.forename: Jair
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Jesus Mari
authors.forename: Marcelo F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: de Mello
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Suchecki
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001007:Anxiety / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D015306:Biogenic Monoamines / Q000378:metabolism; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004563:Electrochemistry; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D018782:Maze Learning; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015306:Biogenic Monoamines; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D003345:Corticosterone