title: Neonatal handling alters the structure of maternal behavior and affects mother-pup bonding.
abstract: During early life, a mother and her pups establish a very close relationship, and the olfactory learning of the nest odor is very important for the bond formation. The olfactory bulb (OB) is a structure that plays a fundamental role in the olfactory learning (OL) mechanism that also involves maternal behavior (licking and contact). We hypothesized that handling the pups would alter the structure of the maternal behavior, affect OL, and alter mother-pup relationships. Moreover, changes in the cyclic AMP-response element binding protein phosphorylation (CREB) and neurotrophic factors could be a part of the mechanism of these changes. This study aimed to analyze the effects of neonatal handling, 1 min per day from postpartum day 1 to 10 (PPD 1 to PPD 10), on the maternal behavior and pups' preference for the nest odor in a Y maze (PPD 11). We also tested CREB's phosphorylation and BDNF signaling in the OB of the pups (PPD 7) by Western blot analysis. The results showed that handling alters mother-pups interaction by decreasing mother-pups contact and changing the temporal pattern of all components of the maternal behavior especially the daily licking and nest-building. We found sex-dependent changes in the nest odor preference, CREB and BDNF levels in pups OB. Male pups were more affected by alterations in the licking pattern, and female pups were more affected by changes in the mother-pup contact (the time spent outside the nest and nursing).
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brazil. Electronic address: bioadolfo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brazil.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: de Azevedo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brazil.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brazil.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brazil.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Centro de Memória, Instituto do Cérebro, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90610-000, Brazil.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Izquierdo
authors.affiliation: Instituto do Cérebro, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Avenida Nascimento de Castro, 2155, Natal, RN, CEP 59056-450, Brazil.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cammarota
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90035-003, Brazil.
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Silveira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brazil.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Lucion
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D050882:CREB-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D006234:Handling, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D009769:Object Attachment; D009812:Odorants; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D050882:CREB-Binding Protein
keywords: Attachment; CREB; Neonatal intervention; Neurotrophic signaling; Olfactory learning