Long-lasting effects of neonatal stimulation on the behavior of rats.

Padoin, Maristela J.; Cadore, Luciana P.; Gomes, Cláudio; Barros, Helena Maria Tannhauser; Lucion, Aldo Bolten

doi:10.1037/0735-7044.115.6.1332

Cited by 81 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(66 reference statements)

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“…After handling, all of the pups were returned to the nest at the same time, and the mother was returned to the home cage. This specific procedure has been previously used (Gomes, Frantz, Sanvitto, Anselmo-Franci, & Lucion, 1999;Padoin et al, 2001;Severino et al, 2004). The intervention is apparently not physically harmful to the pups, but it interferes with the mother-infant relationship, which appears to be the key factor that explains the long-lasting effects of this mild intervention.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, other effects of environmental intervention during early life appear to depend on time. For example, attenuation of the stress response, which is the core effect of the handling procedure, was not detected in juvenile rats prior to puberty (Padoin et al, 2001;Severino et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Later in life, neonatal handling reduces "amicable" social behaviors (Todeschin et al, 2009). Indeed, handling has a major impact on social behaviors in adulthood such as a reduction of sexual behavior (Padoin, Cadore, Gomes, Barros, & Lucion, 2001). However, other effects of environmental intervention during early life appear to depend on time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mild environmental intervention in mother-infant interactions reduces social play behavior in rats.

Karkow¹,

Lucion²

2013

Psychology & Neuroscience

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During early life, animals are sensitive to environmental events that may lead to short-term and long-lasting changes in their neurobiology and behavior, which could be related to increased risk for psychopathology. Neonatal handling is an experimental intervention in the mother-infant relationship. Based on previous studies, it is known to decrease rat pups' preference for maternal cues. Handling also reduces social, sexual, and fear behavior in adult animals, which is related to underlying neuroendocrine alterations. One prominent feature of adolescence is the high frequency of social behaviors such as play that appear to be necessary for proper socioemotional development. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of repeatedly handling pups on social play behavior during the neonatal period in juvenile Wistar rats. We found that handling consistently decreased pouncing, wrestling, and chasing play behavior on postnatal days (PND) 25, 30, and 35 compared with non-handled juveniles. As expected, sex differences were also found. Consistent with previous studies in infant and adult rats, the neonatal handling procedure also reduced affiliative behaviors in juvenile animals. The precise mechanisms by which this early intervention leads to these alterations in offspring remain to be determined, but the cumulative effects of briefly disrupting the mother-infant relationship that caused the neonatal handling may be one possible explanation.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mild environmental intervention in mother-infant interactions reduces social play behavior in rats.

Karkow¹,

Lucion²

2013

Psychology & Neuroscience

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“…The handling procedure consisted of removing the mother from the homecage and placing it in a separate room. The pups remained in the colony room, separated from the nest, and were handled for 10 minutes per day by a latex-gloved researcher as described in previous studies (Gomes et al, 1999(Gomes et al, , 2005Padoin et al, 2001;Raineki et al, 2008Raineki et al, , 2009Severino et al, 2004). The pups were then immediately returned to their homecages, and the mother was then returned to the cage (Severino et al, 2004).…”

Section: Neonatal Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have shown that the neonatal environment can have a decisive influence on animal development, inducing behavioral, neuroendocrine, and neural changes that endure throughout life (Levine, 2001;Liu, Caldji, Sharma, Plotsky, & Meaney, 2000;Meaney et al, 1996;Padoin, Cadore, Gomes, Barros, & Lucion, 2001). Previous studies demonstrated that pups subjected to neonatal handling, which involves concomitant brief maternal separation and tactile stimulation of the pups, exhibit less fear-like behavior as adults in novel or adverse environments compared with adults that were not subjected to neonatal handling (Bodnoff, SuranyiCadotte, Quirion, & Meaney, 1987;Fernandez-Teruel, Eschorihuela, Driscoll, Tobena, & Battig, 1991;Levine, Haltmeyer, Karas, & Denenberg, 1967;Madruga, Xavier, Achaval, Sanvitto, & Lucion, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interventions in the neonatal environment in rats and their relationship to behavior in adulthood and maternal behavior.

Azevedo¹,

Souza²,

Donadio³

et al. 2010

Psychology & Neuroscience

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The objective of this study was to assess the role of environmental/nest components and maternal behavior after several neonatal interventions on subsequent behavioral responses. Male Wistar rats were subjected to different neonatal interventions and were later evaluated for innate fear-like behavior in adulthood. The experimental groups included nonhandled (i.e., animals were not touched), handled (i.e., animals were separated from their mother, removed from the nest, and handled for 10 min/day), brief maternal separation (i.e., the mother was removed from the homecage for 10 min/day, and the pups remained in their cages without being touched), and tactile stimulation (i.e., the mother was removed from the homecage, and pups were stimulated with a brush for 10 min/day within the nest). The mother's behavior was recorded during the neonatal period, and the male pups were later tested in the open field as adults. The results revealed that only mothers whose pups were handled had an increase in the duration of licking behavior compared with the other groups. In the open field test, we observed decreased behavioral innate fear-like responses in male adults in the handled and brief separation groups compared with the others groups. Our results confirm that interventions during the neonatal period cause stable behavioral changes (decreased innate fear) in adulthood and that absent or excessive tactile stimulation appears to be an important factor. Both repeated disruption of the mother-infant relationship and withdrawal from the environment/nest are factors that exert profound effects on the development of the animals.

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Effects of neonatal novelty exposure on sexual behavior, fear, and stress‐response in adult rats

Benetti

Araujo

Sanvitto

et al. 2007

Developmental Psychobiology

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Environmental stimuli in early life may result in permanent behavioral and physiological changes. Present study evaluated the effects of exposing pups to a novel environment on behaviors (open-field test and sexual behavior) and prolactin stress-responses in adult male rats. Half of a litter was daily removed outside (OUT) from the nest and stimulated by handling for 3 min, while the other half remained inside (IN) the nest and was also handled for the same period during the first 10 days postpartum. Maternal behavior after all the pups were returned to the nest was not different between IN and OUT littermates. In adulthood, OUT males showed increased general and central locomotion activity in the open-field test, reduced sexual behavior, and attenuated prolactin secretion in response to restraint stress compared with the IN littermates. The repeated exposition of rat pups to a novel environment is a causal factor for the long-lasting behavioral and endocrine changes. The premature exposition of the pup to unfamiliar environments decreases fear and stress-response, and also reduces sexual behavior. We suggest that the absence of the odor of the mother may be crucial to explain the effects detected in adulthood.

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Long-lasting effects of neonatal stimulation on the behavior of rats.

Cited by 81 publications

References 46 publications

Mild environmental intervention in mother-infant interactions reduces social play behavior in rats.

Mild environmental intervention in mother-infant interactions reduces social play behavior in rats.

Interventions in the neonatal environment in rats and their relationship to behavior in adulthood and maternal behavior.

Effects of neonatal novelty exposure on sexual behavior, fear, and stress‐response in adult rats

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