Increased Adrenocortical Activity in the Neonatal Rat Following Handling

Denenberg, Victor H.; Brumaghim, Joan Thatcher; Haltmeyer, Gary C.; Zarrow, M. X.

doi:10.1210/endo-81-5-1047

Cited by 117 publications

(58 citation statements)

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“…Because neonatal handling increases blood CORT concentration in 2-day-old pups, detectable by pooling measures from several pups within a litter (39,40), such a direct activation of the HPA axis may partially mediate the neonatal novelty exposure effect, leading to permanent modification of the adult HPA axis, which in turn can exert a long-term influence on social and cognitive functions. Although it would take extraordinary evidence to rule out the possibility that at least some aspects of the HPA axis are affected by neonatal stimulation, such evidence emerged in the name of a stress-nonresponsive period (SNRP) among rodent neonates (41).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Programming social, cognitive, and neuroendocrine development by early exposure to novelty

Tang

Akers²,

Reeb³

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

119

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Mildly stressful early life experiences can potentially impact a broad range of social, cognitive, and physiological functions in humans, nonhuman primates, and rodents. Recent rodent studies favor a maternal-mediation hypothesis that considers maternalcare differences induced by neonatal stimulation as the cause of individual differences in offspring development. Using neonatal novelty exposure, a neonatal stimulation paradigm that dissociates maternal individual differences from a direct stimulation effect on the offspring, we investigated the effect of early exposures to novelty on a diverse range of psychological functions using several assessment paradigms. Pups that received brief neonatal novelty exposures away from the home environment showed enhancement in spatial working memory, social competition, and corticosterone response to surprise during adulthood compared with their home-staying siblings. These functional enhancements in novelty-exposed rats occurred despite evidence that maternal care was directed preferentially toward homestaying instead of novelty-exposed pups, indicating that greater maternal care is neither necessary nor sufficient for these early stimulation-induced functional enhancements. We suggest a unifying maternal-modulation hypothesis, which distinguishes itself from the maternal-mediation hypothesis in that (i) neonatal stimulation can have direct effects on pups, cumulatively leading to long-term improvement in adult offspring; and (ii) maternal behavior can attenuate or potentiate these effects, thereby decreasing or increasing this long-term functional improvement.hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis ͉ maternal retrieval ͉ neonatal handling ͉ spatial learning ͉ stress T he mother is an omnipresent figure in the life of rodent neonates. In rodent models that focus on understanding functional impairment, prolonged separation of neonates from their mother leads to long-term deficits relative to controls (1-3). In contrast, rodent models demonstrating functional enhancement reveal that brief separation of neonates from their mother and home environment leads to a range of advantages relative to controls (4-7). In both types of studies, maternal behavior is considered critical in mediating these effects. Complementary to these experimental manipulations, studies of naturally occurring maternal-care behaviors offer further evidence that maternal care is positively correlated with an impressive array of neuroendocrine, cellular, and molecular measures from adult offspring (8-10). Such relationships were considered as evidence that particular maternal-care behaviors are positive markers of offspring neural development (8).Although these findings seem to lead to a compelling conclusion that the more maternal care offspring receive, the greater functional advantage they have during adulthood, it has long been noted in the literature on rodents that early stimulation of the mother and stimulation of pups are intrinsically confounded in neonatal handling studies because dams of handl...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Programming social, cognitive, and neuroendocrine development by early exposure to novelty

Tang

Akers²,

Reeb³

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

119

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“…The effects of early experiences are considered to be less readily reversible than those of later experience (Levine, 1968;Scott and Fuller, 1965). S. Levine et al (1967), L. Levine et al (1979), Denenberg and Whimbey (1968), and Denenberg et al (1967) studied many treatments and subsequent effects on both infant and adult rats. Fuller and Thompson (1978) summarize these studies by saying, "An adult rat shocked for eating out of a white dish learns to avoid white dishes but is otherwise much the same as before.…”

Section: Effects Of Early Experience and Handlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetics and Behavior During Handling, Restraint, and Herding

Grandin¹,

Deesing²

2014

Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals

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The primary objective of this chapter is to discuss the effects of genetics on the behavior of herding animals during handling and restraint. Compared to rodents, poultry, and fruit flies (Drosophilia) very little behavioral genetics work has been done on livestock. During our careers we have observed thousands of animals under many different conditions. In this chapter we will discuss our observations under practical conditions and research findings, which would affect behavior during handling, herding, or restraint.Writing on the behavioral aspects of animal domestication for the Quarterly Review of Biology Price (1984) stated:It is difficult to generalize about the effects of domestication on either genetic or phenotypic variability because of different selection pressures on different traits and species. However, it is apparent that, with respect to animal behavior, domestication has influenced the quantitative rather than the qualitative nature of the response.To put it in simpler words, domestication changes the intensity of a behavioral response. For example, zebras are more flighty and nervous than domestic horses. Parsons (1988) further wrote that domestic animals are more stress resistant because they have been selected for a calm attitude toward man. In either event, a genetic predisposition to be fearful or calm interacts with early experience and learning in very complex ways. The term temperament will be used in this chapter to refer to nervous system reactivity, which is determined by both genetic and environmental factors. During handling, fear is a major determinant of an animal's behavior. Genetic influences on temperament interact with early experience and learning to shape adult patterns of behavior. The most convincing examples of genetic influence on behavior come from selection and strain studies of behavior in mice (DeFries et al., 1978). Selective breeding of rats for either high or low fearfulness clearly shows that genetics plays a major role in determining an animal's temperament (Broadhurst, 1960;Eysenck and Broadhurst, 1964;Huck and Price, 1975). Behaviors studied in the laboratory are clearly shown to be substantially influenced by genetic factors (Plomin, 1990). In the following sections we will discuss the interacting forces of genetics and experience. Some of the topics which will be covered are flocking behavior, herding behavior, flight zone, social behavior, attraction and reaction to novelty, inheritability of behavior, and sire effect; some general principles for handling domestic animals will also be discussed.

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“…Therefore, we conclude that the differences in fat saturation between breast milk and formulas probably do not account for the differences in thyroid hormones. The type of fat significantly affects the conversion of T4 to T3 in vitro [23], Other environmental factors such as ma ternal care versus handling by humans may influence circulating T3 levels as has been sug gested for rat pups [24,25], However, we are not aware of any direct evidence supporting the concept that rearing by humans of non human primates increases thyroid hormone levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Breast Feeding and Formula Feeding Affect Differently Plasma Thyroid Hormone Concentrations in Infant Baboons

Lewis¹,

McMahan²,

Mott³

1993

Neonatology

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We tested the hypothesis that plasma thyroid hormone levels in infant baboons are differentially affected by breast-feeding and nursery rearing. Infant baboons were breast-fed (n = 17), or fed formulas with a high polyunsaturated to saturated fat ratio (P/S) (n = 13), or a low P/S formula (n = 14). Plasma total triiodothyronine (T₃) and free T₃ (fT₃) concentrations increased from 4 to 14 weeks of age in infants fed either formula, but decreased in breast-fed infants. At 9 and 14 weeks of age, infants fed the formulas averaged 31% higher T₃ and 53% higher fT₃ concentrations compared with breast-fed infants. Although T₃ concentrations of the high P/S formula group compared with the low P/S formula group were not different at any single age, from 4 to 14 weeks the T₃ averaged 19% higher in the high P/S formula group. Plasma total thyroxine (T₄) or free T₄ (fT₄) concentrations were not significantly different among the diet groups during the preweaning period. In summary, formula-fed infants maintained higher plasma T₃ and fT₃ levels compared with breast-fed infants in the late preweaning period.

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Increased Adrenocortical Activity in the Neonatal Rat Following Handling

Cited by 117 publications

References 0 publications

Programming social, cognitive, and neuroendocrine development by early exposure to novelty

Programming social, cognitive, and neuroendocrine development by early exposure to novelty

Genetics and Behavior During Handling, Restraint, and Herding

Breast Feeding and Formula Feeding Affect Differently Plasma Thyroid Hormone Concentrations in Infant Baboons

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