title: How postnatal insults may program development: studies in animal models.
abstract: During the postnatal period, the nervous system is modified and shaped by experience, in order to adjust it to the particular environment in which the animal will live. This plasticity, one of the most remarkable characteristics of the nervous system, promotes adaptive changes, but it also makes brain more vulnerable to insults. This chapter will focus on the effects of interventions during the postnatal development in animal models of neonatal handling (usually up to 15 min of handling) and maternal separation (usually at least for 3 h). Sex-specific changes and effects of prepubertal stress such as social isolation later on in life were also considered. These interventions during development induce long-lasting traces in the pups' nervous system, which will be reflected in changes in neuroendocrine functions, including the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal and hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axes; anxiety and cognitive performance; and feeding, sexual, and social behavior. These enduring changes may be adaptive or maladaptive, depending on the environment in which the animal will live. The challenge researchers facing now is to determine how to reverse the deleterious effects that may result from early-life stress exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Basic Health Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porte Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dalmaz
authors.forename: Cristie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Noschang
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Krolow
authors.forename: Charlis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Raineki
authors.forename: Aldo B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Lucion