Postpartum environmental challenges alter maternal responsiveness and offspring development

Scarola, Samantha; Kent, Molly; Neal, S.; Trejo, Jose Perdomo; Bardi, Massimo; Lambert, Kelly G.

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104761

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Considering this literature, we aimed to identify from a large cohort of mouse dams, a subgroup of females presenting elevated concentrations of basal plasma corticosterone (High Cort, HC). Interestingly, in agreement with literature (Scarola et al, 2020;Catalani et al, 2002) these female mice also exhibited considerable low levels of offspring-directed active maternal care, particularly early in lactation. In agreement with our expectations (Catalani et al, 1993;Laviola et al, 2017), but contrary to their own mothers, the adult offspring exhibited very low hormonal activation in response to restraint stress (for clinical studies, see Creavy et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Callous unemotional trait-like mice and their stressed dams

Laviola

Leonardo

Ceci

et al. 2021

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Callous unemotional trait-like mice and their stressed dams

Laviola

Leonardo

Ceci

et al. 2021

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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“…The maternal separation effects on pups, however, was reported to be inconsistent in varying inbred strains of mice even when the maternal response to pups was consistently heightened upon 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.910056 reunion with pups (Millstein and Holmes, 2007). Alternatively, a simulation of poverty conditions has been investigated in rodents by restricting nesting and bedding resources [known as the limited bedding and nesting (LBN) model], conditions that typically disrupt maternal care and lead to the development of varying neurobiological risks in offspring [e.g., heightened corticosterone levels and adrenal hypertrophy (Avishai-Eliner et al, 2001;reviewed in Molet et al, 2014) and delayed developmental outcomes (Scarola et al, 2020)]. Because this model doesn't require removing the dam from the nest and the associated feeding and thermoregulation disruptions, the restricted nesting and bedding model of (ELS) offers potential translational value for understanding brain development in adverse conditions (Walker et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disrupted development from head to tail: Pervasive effects of postnatal restricted resources on neurobiological, behavioral, and morphometric outcomes

Kent

Jacob

Bowen

et al. 2022

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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When a maternal rat nurtures her pups, she relies on adequate resources to provide optimal care for her offspring. Accordingly, limited environmental resources may result in atypical maternal care, disrupting various developmental outcomes. In the current study, maternal Long-Evans rats were randomly assigned to either a standard resource (SR) group, provided with four cups of bedding and two paper towels for nesting material or a limited resource (LR) group, provided with a quarter of the bedding and nesting material provided for the SR group. Offspring were monitored at various developmental phases throughout the study. After weaning, pups were housed in same-sex dyads in environments with SRs for continued observations. Subsequent behavioral tests revealed a sex × resource interaction in play behavior on PND 28; specifically, LR reduced play attacks in males while LR increased play attacks in females. A sex × resource interaction was also observed in anxiety-related responses in the open field task with an increase in thigmotaxis in LR females and, in the social interaction task, females exhibited more external rears oriented away from the social target. Focusing on morphological variables, tail length measurements of LR males and females were shorter on PND 9, 16, and 21; however, differences in tail length were no longer present at PND 35. Following the behavioral assessments, animals were perfused at 56 days of age and subsequent immunohistochemical assays indicated increased glucocorticoid receptors in the lateral habenula of LR offspring and higher c-Fos immunoreactivity in the basolateral amygdala of SR offspring. Further, when tail vertebrae and tail tendons were assessed via micro-CT and hydroxyproline assays, results indicated increased trabecular separation, decreased bone volume fraction, and decreased connectivity density in bones, along with reduced collagen concentration in tendons in the LR animals. In sum, although the restricted resources only persisted for a brief duration, the effects appear to be far-reaching and pervasive in this early life stress animal model.

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“…It is well known that early life adversity can increase the risk for several systemic and mental disorders in both humans (Fagundes et al, 2013 ; Rehan et al, 2017 ) and non-human animals (Dallman et al 1994 ). In our laboratory, we showed that early exposure to enriched conditions and positive training can have effects spanning the entire life of rats (Scarola and Bardi, 2020 ) and have profound consequences for emotional regulation and cognitive development (Bardi et al, 2012 , 2013 ; 2016 ; Scarola et al, 2020 ). Therefore, adolescent rats were selected in this experiment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Back to nature: herbal treatment, environmental enrichment, and social play can protect against unpredictable chronic stress in Long-Evans rats (Rattus norvegicus)

et al. 2021

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The importance of integrative biobehavioral responses to complex challenges cannot be overlooked. In this study, the synergetic effects of icariin (a flavonoid present in the plant Epimedium brevicornum ), natural enrichment (NaEn), and play behavior were investigated. Rats ( n = 60) were assigned to standard housing or NaEn; these two groups were subsequently divided into controls, rats receiving icariin treatments, and rats receiving icariin and allowed to play with an individual from another cage. All rats were exposed to unpredictable mild stressors for 4 weeks. At the end of the treatment, a Forced Swim Task (FST) was conducted to assess emotional regulation during an inescapable acute challenge. Biological samples were collected weekly and before and after the FST to monitor endocrine changes. Corticosterone (CORT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and testosterone (T) were assayed. We found that icariin had a significant effect on DHEA/CORT ratios and T levels. NaEn also had a significant effect on both CORT and DHEA, but not on T levels. Play did not appear to be significantly related to the endocrine changes. The strongest positive effects on emotional resilience were observed in NaEn rats that also received icariin. Our results confirmed that using multiple channels to stimulate adaptive responses can be effective in increasing the ability of an organism to face uncertainty. Considering how quickly our life can change due to unpredictable events, our data is instrumental to a better comprehension of the many aspects of integrative biobehavioral responses.

show abstract

Postpartum environmental challenges alter maternal responsiveness and offspring development

Cited by 8 publications

References 70 publications

Callous unemotional trait-like mice and their stressed dams

Callous unemotional trait-like mice and their stressed dams

Disrupted development from head to tail: Pervasive effects of postnatal restricted resources on neurobiological, behavioral, and morphometric outcomes

Back to nature: herbal treatment, environmental enrichment, and social play can protect against unpredictable chronic stress in Long-Evans rats (Rattus norvegicus)

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