“…14,15,43 Although the exposition of the dams to a low protein diet can result in a stress condition during the lactation period and, thus, produce alterations in the maternal behavior in response to the pup's demands, previously reported results showed that these possible effects appears to be transient and restricted to the social behavior procedures, with no evident effects on experimental models of anxiety in rats. 7,15,16,18,19,30,39,40 Thus, it is suggested that possible alterations in the behavior of the animals nursed by malnourished dams did not influenced their behavior in the EPM. In contrast, it is suggested that this lower anxiety and/or higher impulsivity can be the result of deleterious effects of early protein malnutrition in the development and maturation of the structures involved in behavioral inhibition, such as the septum, the hippocampus, and the amygdala.…”