title: Neonatal handling alters maternal emotional response to stress.
abstract: Neonatal handling is an experimental procedure used to analyze the effects of environmental interventions during early postpartum days (PPD). Long-lasting effects of repeated stress exposure in the neonatal period on the maternal side are poorly studied in this model. The aim of this study was to verify if handling the pups induces enduring effects on damśstress responses, increasing their risk for depression. Dams were divided into two groups (NH-Non-handled and H-Handled) based on the handling procedure (pups were handled for 1 min/per day from PPD1-PPD10) and then subdivided into four groups (NH, NH + S, H, and H + S) based on the exposure or not to restraint stress after weaning (1 hr/per day for 7 days, PPD22-PPD28). We analyzed damśbehavior in the forced swimming test (FST PPD29-PPD30), plasma basal corticosterone and BDNF levels, as well as adrenal weight (PPD31). The results show that handling alters the stress response of dams to acute and chronic stress, as evidenced by dams of the H group having increased immobility in the first day of FST (p < .001), similar to NH + S (p < .01). Dams of the H and H + S groups show decreased levels of corticosterone when compared to NH and NH + S groups (p < .05), but the H + S group shows an increased adrenal weight, suggesting an increased sensibility of the maternal organism to the chronic stress applied after weaning (p < .05). We show that handling may induce a long-lasting effect on maternal stress response; these changes in the damśemotional reactivity increase their susceptibility for the development of psychiatric disorders such as depression. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 58: 614-622, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brasil. bioadolfo@gmail.com.|Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brasil. bioadolfo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Adolfo R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brasil.
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brasil.
authors.forename: Pâmela R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Menegotto
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brasil.|Departamento de Pediatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90035-003, Brasil.
authors.forename: Patrícia P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Silveira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brasil.|Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Sarmento Leite, 500, Porto Alegre, RS, CEP 90050-170, Brasil.
authors.forename: Aldo B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Lucion
mesh_terms: D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood*; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006234:Handling, Psychological; D008297:Male; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: adrenal weight; depression; lactating females; neonatal intervention; stress response