TY - JOUR
TI - A novel model of early experiences involving neonatal learning of a T-maze using maternal contact as a reward or its denial as an event of mild emotional adversity
AU - Stamatakis, A.
AU - Diamantopoulou, A.
AU - Panagiotaropoulos, T.
AU - Raftogianni, A.
AU - Stylianopoulou, F.
JO - Developmental Psychobiology
PY - 2014
VL - 56
TODO - 8
SP - 1651-1660
PB - John Wiley and Sons Inc
SN - 0012-1630, 1098-2302
TODO - 10.1002/dev.21248
TODO - adaptive behavior;  animal;  animal behavior;  animal model;  brain;  growth, development and aging;  maternal behavior;  maze test;  newborn;  pathophysiology;  physiology;  rat;  reward, Adaptation, Psychological;  Animals;  Animals, Newborn;  Behavior, Animal;  Brain;  Maternal Behavior;  Maze Learning;  Models, Animal;  Rats;  Reward
TODO - We developed a novel animal model of early life experiences in which rat pups are trained during postnatal days (PND) 10-13 in a T-maze with maternal contact as a reward (RER group) or its denial (DER group) as a mildly aversive event. Both groups of animals learn the T-maze, albeit the RER do so more efficiently. Training results in activation of the basal ganglia in the RER and of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in the DER. Moreover, on PND10 DER training leads to increased corticosterone levels and activation of the amygdala. In adulthood, male DER animals show better mnemonic abilities in the Morris water maze while the RER exhibit enhanced fear memory. Furthermore, DER animals have a hypofunctioning serotonergic system and express depressive-like behavior and increased aggression. However, they have increased hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors, indicative of efficient hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function, and an adaptive pattern of stress-induced corticosterone response. The DER experience with its relatively negative emotional valence results in a complex behavioral phenotype, which cannot be considered simply as adaptive or maladaptive. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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