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Paul Mallet
Effect of early rearing environment on morphine-induced Fos-immunoreactivity in the adult male rat brain
Pediatric Research, 67(3), 263-267.
Rana, S. A., Mallet, P. E., Robertson, B.- A., and Wainwright, P. E.
published: 2010 | Research publication | Journal Article
Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that rats
reared in isolation from their dam and littermates show altered behavioral
responsiveness to both natural and drug-mediated rewards. The present study examined the
effects of complete maternal deprivation through the use of artificial rearing on
neural activation following acute morphine exposure in adulthood. Male rats were either artificially
reared (AR) or maternally reared (MR) from postnatal day 5 to 21. In adulthood (4-month old), rats
received a single injection of morphine sulfate (10 mg/kg) or equivolume saline
2 h prior to perfusion and brain extraction. Neural activation was quantified using Fos
immunohistochemistry. Analyses of
several brain regions revealed a consistent pattern of differences between AR
and MR rats. Specifically,
relative to MR rats, AR rats showed significantly greater morphine-induced
Fos-immunoreactivity in brain regions associated with the mesocorticolimbic
“reward” pathway. These results support
the hypothesis that functional activity in reward neurocircuitry can be altered
by early life experience.
Download: PDF (394k) Rana_et_al_2010.pdf
revised May 14/10
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