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Permanent effects of maternal deprivation stress and adolescent morphine exposure on anxiety-like behaviors and working memory in male and female rats
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Fatemeh Khani   , Ershad Mahmoudi , Motahareh Zeinivand  , Seyed Ershad Nedaei * |
| Department of Physiology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran |
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Abstract: (454 Views) |
Background and Aim: Experience of separation from mother can cause lasting changes in brain structure. Meanwhile, exposure to opioids in adolescence can affect cognitive abilities. In this study, effects of maternal deprivation stress and exposure to morphine in adolescence on anxiety-like behaviors and working memory were evaluated in adult rats.
Methods: Male and female Wistar rats including control, maternal deprivation stress (Str), receiving morphine (Morphine) in adolescent, and Morphine with Stress (Mor + Str) group were selected. In the Str group, the offspring was separated from their mothers 3 hours/day for 14 days. Morphine group received increasing doses of morphine from 2.5 to 25 mg/kg for 10 days (31-40 postnatal day). Open field test, elevated plus maze and Y maze were used to investigate locomotor activity, anxiety-like behaviors and working memory of animals, respectively.
Results: There was no significant difference in locomotor activity between morphine and control groups. Morphine group in both sexes spent more time in center of the open field compared to control group, and unlike the Mor + Str group, had stable anti-anxiety behavioral effects until adulthood. Working memory was impaired in both Morphine and Mor + Str groups in both sexes compared to control group.
Conclusion: Maternal deprivation and substance abuse have lasting effects on occurrence of anxiety-like behaviors during the developmental period of adolescence. Maturation of the nervous system can be affected by these adverse environmental factors and underwent permanent behavioral changes and cognitive disorders.
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| Keywords: Adolescence, Anxiety-like behavior, Maternal deprivation, Morphine, Working memory |
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Full-Text [PDF 1617 kb]
(306 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Original Research |
Subject:
Neuroscience
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