title: Paradoxical neurobehavioral rescue by memories of early-life abuse: the safety signal value of odors learned during abusive attachment.
abstract: Caregiver-associated cues, including those learned in abusive attachment, provide a sense of safety and security to the child. Here, we explore how cues associated with abusive attachment, such as maternal odor, can modify the enduring neurobehavioral effects of early-life abuse. Two early-life abuse models were used: a naturalistic paradigm, where rat pups were reared by an abusive mother; and a more controlled paradigm, where pups underwent peppermint odor-shock conditioning that produces an artificial maternal odor through engagement of the attachment circuit. Animals were tested for maternal odor preference in infancy, forced swim test (FST), social behavior, and sexual motivation in adulthood-in the presence or absence of maternal odors (natural or peppermint). Amygdala odor-evoked local field potentials (LFPs) via wireless electrodes were also examined in response to the maternal odors in adulthood. Both early-life abuse models induced preference for the maternal odors in infancy. In adulthood, these early-life abuse models produced FST deficits and decreased social behavior, but did not change sexual motivation. Presentation of the maternal odors rescued FST and social behavior deficits induced by early-life abuse and enhanced sexual motivation in all animals. In addition, amygdala LFPs from both abuse animal models showed unique activation within the gamma frequency (70-90 Hz) bands in response to the specific maternal odor present during early-life abuse. These results suggest that attachment-related cues learned during infancy have a profound ability to rescue neurobehavioral dysregulation caused by early-life abuse. Paradoxically, abuse-associated cues seem to acquire powerful and enduring antidepressive properties and alter amygdala modulation.
authors.affiliation: 1] Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA [2] Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA [3] Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Charlis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Raineki
authors.affiliation: 1] Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA [2] Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sarro
authors.affiliation: 1] Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA [2] Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Millie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rincón-Cortés
authors.affiliation: 1] Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA [2] Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Rosemarie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boggs
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Colin J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Holman
authors.affiliation: 1] Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA [2] Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA [3] Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Donald A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: 1] Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA [2] Child Study Center, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA [3] Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Regina M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004559:Electric Wiring; D008297:Male; D033261:Maternal-Fetal Relations; D018782:Maze Learning; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009042:Motivation; D009812:Odorants; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D012919:Social Behavior; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D013550:Swimming / Q000523:psychology