Effects of mother-litter separation on survival, growth, and brain amino acid levels

Plaut, S. Michael; Davis, James H.

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(72)90128-x

Cited by 33 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Because these adults were nonlactating, their influence has been presumed to be social, as opposed to nutritional, in nature (Plaut & Davis, 1972). In the present experiments, neither stimulation for elimination nor adult guidance to the location of food was necessary for the viability of 13-day-old weanlings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…When pups were provided with both a high-fat diet and nonlactating mother, the effects of early weaning on learning were completely blocked. Plaut and Davis (1972) found that the presence of a nonlactating rat "aunt" or a cauterized mother attenuated cerebral threonine deficits in early weaned animals but did not prevent decreases in body weight, brain weight, and/or cerebral aspartic acid in rats weaned at 15 days. When weaning was forced at an earlier age, 13 days, rat aunts were able to increase dramatically the proportion of animals surviving until 21 days (80% vs. 10%).…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The first two experiments were conducted to determine whether periodic elicitation of micturition by stimulation of the genitalia or periodic tactual stimulation by handling would enhance survival of early weaned rats. Surprisingly, virtually all of the I3-day-old weanlings in these studies survived regardless of experimental assignment.Because methodological details differed between our first two studies and those of previous investigators, a third study, more closely matching the methodology of Plaut and Davis (1972), was conducted in an attempt to replicate previous findings and to reexamine the micturition and handling variables. Offspring of 13 Sprague-Dawley rats were weaned at 12 or 13 days of age and: (a) provided with a nonlactating (thelectomized) foster mother, (b) given stimulation for micturition four times a day, (c) handled four times a day, (d) left undisturbed.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because methodological details differed between our first two studies and those of previous investigators, a third study, more closely matching the methodology of Plaut and Davis (1972), was conducted in an attempt to replicate previous findings and to reexamine the micturition and handling variables. Offspring of 13 Sprague-Dawley rats were weaned at 12 or 13 days of age and: (a) provided with a nonlactating (thelectomized) foster mother, (b) given stimulation for micturition four times a day, (c) handled four times a day, (d) left undisturbed.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[Adolph (1957) placed the completion of maturation of thermoregulation in the rat at about 17-18 days of age.] Neither Plaut and Davis (1972) nor Krecek (1971) specified the ambient temperatures at which their animals were weaned. TIle following experiment compared rats weaned at 13 days in normal room temperature to those provided with an extra source of heat.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temperature, handling, micturition, and the survival of early weaned rats

Oswalt

Koch

1975

Animal Learning & Behavior

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Previous investigations reported that providing non lactating maternally behaving adult females to infant rats weaned at 13 days of age substantially reduces the mortality rate of such weanlings. In experiments undertaken to isolate the maternal variable(s) promoting survival of early weaned rats we found that periodically inducing micturition or stimulation by handling did not alter viability. Thirteen-day-old weanlings did survive if provided with a source of heat, but did not survive at normal room temperature, It appears that the role of the nonlactating mother in the early weaning studies, at least in promoting survival, may simply be that of maintaining adequate body temperatures.Normal or spontaneous weaning of young rats is a gradual process that occurs between 14 and 28 days of age (Krecek, 1971). Growing evidence indicates that experimentally induced early and suden separation of rat pups from their mother results in a number of lasting physiological and behavioral effects, either from social and/or nutritional factors. Thus, Novakova (1966a, b, 1970) found that early weaning impaired subsequent acquisition of classical conditioning but that either a high-fat diet or returning the mother to the litter after cauterizing her nipples to prevent lactation reduced the learning deficit. When pups were provided with both a high-fat diet and nonlactating mother, the effects of early weaning on learning were completely blocked. Plaut and Davis (1972) found that the presence of a nonlactating rat "aunt" or a cauterized mother attenuated cerebral threonine deficits in early weaned animals but did not prevent decreases in body weight, brain weight, and/or cerebral aspartic acid in rats weaned at 15 days. When weaning was forced at an earlier age, 13 days, rat aunts were able to increase dramatically the proportion of animals surviving until 21 days (80% vs. 10%). Plaut and Davis suggested that these latter findings might be attributed to the influence that an adult rat can have on directing the eating behavior of infants (Galef, 1971). However, Krecek (1971) in reporting a difference in the viability of I4-day-old vs. l o-day-old early weaned rats, offered an alternative explanation: deaths due to weaning at 14 days resulted from "disruption of bladder function" due to the immaturity of the micturation response.In attempting to isolate the aspect(s) or maternal deprivation responsible for the high mortality of rat pups weaned at 13 days, we conducted several initial experiments which will be briefly mentioned before describing the last and most critical study. The first two experiments were conducted to determine whether periodic elicitation of micturition by stimulation of the genitalia or periodic tactual stimulation by handling would enhance survival of early weaned rats. Surprisingly, virtually all of the I3-day-old weanlings in these studies survived regardless of experimental assignment.Because methodological details differed between our first two studies and those of previous investigators, a third study...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

mentioning

confidence: 92%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temperature, handling, micturition, and the survival of early weaned rats

Oswalt

Koch

1975

Animal Learning & Behavior

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Early weaning decreases play‐fighting behavior during the postweaning developmental period of wistar rats

Shimozuru

Kodama

Iwasa

et al. 2007

Developmental Psychobiology

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We examined the influence of early weaning on the development of play-fighting behaviors and anxiety status in Wistar rats. Pups were divided into two groups, those weaned at postnatal day (PD) 16 (early-weaned group) and those weaned at PD30 (normally weaned group), and were housed in pairs of the same sex. Playful interactions were measured for each pair once a week from 4 to 7 weeks of age. Thereafter, during early adulthood, all the rats were subjected to the elevated plus-maze test. The frequencies of pinning and playful attack were less in the early-weaned group than in the normally weaned group. In the elevated plus-maze test, rat pups in the early-weaned group had higher anxiety levels. The results showed that deprivation of mother-pup interactions during the preweaning period decreases affiliative interactions between cage mates, including play-fighting behaviors during the postweaning developmental period, and increases anxiety levels during early adulthood.

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Effects of early weaning on anxiety and prefrontal cortical and hippocampal myelination in male and female wistar rats

Kodama

Kikusui

Takeuchi

et al. 2008

Developmental Psychobiology

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We investigated developmental changes in myelin formation in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, and behavioral effects of early weaning in Wistar rats. Early-weaned rats showed decreased numbers of open-arm entries in an elevated plus-maze in both sexes at 4 weeks old; this effect persisted in males, but ceased in females after this age. Expression of myelin basic protein (MBP) showed both age-dependent increases and sex differences; 4-week-old males exhibited higher MBP levels in the hippocampus, whereas 7-week-old males showed lower MBP levels in the prefrontal cortex compared to females of the same age. There was a tendency for group differences from weaning for the 21.5-kDa isoform in the prefrontal cortex. Although these results suggest that male rats are more vulnerable than females to early-weaning effects on anxiety-related behaviors, further detailed analysis is needed to clarify the functional relationship between myelination and anxiety-related behaviors.

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Effects of mother-litter separation on survival, growth, and brain amino acid levels

Cited by 33 publications

References 27 publications

Temperature, handling, micturition, and the survival of early weaned rats

Temperature, handling, micturition, and the survival of early weaned rats

Early weaning decreases play‐fighting behavior during the postweaning developmental period of wistar rats

Effects of early weaning on anxiety and prefrontal cortical and hippocampal myelination in male and female wistar rats

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