title: Neonatal NMDA receptor blockade alters anxiety- and depression-related behaviors in a sex-dependent manner in mice.
abstract: There is increasing evidence that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blockade in the neonatal period has a long-lasting influence on brain and behavior development and has been linked to an increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders in later life. We sought to determine whether postnatal NMDA receptor blockade can affect normal development of body weight, corticosterone levels, anxiety- and depression-related behaviors in male and female mice in adulthood. For this purpose, male and female NMRI mice were treated with either saline or phencyclidine (PCP; 5 and 10 mg/kg, s.c.) on postnatal days (PND) 7, 9, and 11, and then subjected to different behavioral tests, including open field, elevated plus-maze, elevated zero-maze, light-dark box, tail suspension test and forced swimming test in adulthood. The results indicated that neonatal PCP treatment reduced body weight during neonatal and adulthood periods, and did not alter baseline corticosterone levels in both male and female mice. Moreover, this study obtained some experimental evidence showing the PCP at dose of 10 mg/kg increases stress-induced corticosterone levels, anxiety- and depression-related behaviors in males, while decreasing levels of anxiety without any significant effect on depression in female mice in adulthood. These data support the argument that neonatal NMDA receptor blockade can lead to behavioral abnormalities and psychiatric diseases in adulthood. Collectively, our findings suggest that neonatal exposure to PCP may have profound effects on the development of anxiety- and depression-related behaviors in a sex- and dose-dependent manner in mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amani
authors.forename: Hanieh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Samadi
authors.forename: Mohammad-Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Doosti
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Azarfarin
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bakhtiari
authors.forename: Naime
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Majidi-Zolbanin
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mirza-Rahimi
authors.forename: Ali-Akbar
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Salari
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001007:Anxiety / Q000139:chemically induced*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003863:Depression / Q000139:chemically induced*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010622:Phencyclidine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D010622:Phencyclidine; D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: Anxiety; Body weight; Corticosterone; Depression; HPA axis; Mice; NMDA receptor; Neonatal period; Phencyclidine; Stress