Environmental enrichment models a naturalistic form of maternal separation and shapes the anxiety response patterns of offspring

• Published in: Psychoneuroendocrinology Vol. 52; pp. 153 - 167
• Main Authors: Connors, E.J, Migliore, M.M, Pillsbury, S.L, Shaik, A.N, Kentner, A.C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-02-2015
• Subjects: Animals; Anxiety; Anxiety - metabolism; Anxiety - physiopathology; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Enrichment; Environment; Female; GABA; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - metabolism; GLUR1; Glutamate; Glutamic Acid - metabolism; Male; Maternal Behavior - physiology; Maternal care; Prefrontal cortex; Prefrontal Cortex - metabolism; Psychiatry; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, AMPA - metabolism; Sex Factors; Social Behavior; Social housing; Enrichment; Maternal care; Social housing; GLUR1; GABA; Anxiety; Prefrontal cortex; Glutamate
• ISSN: 0306-4530; 1873-3360
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.10.021

Highlights • We evaluated maternal care and juvenile offspring behavior following pre- and postnatal environmental enrichment (EE). • EE increased offspring GLUR1 and GABA concentrations in prefrontal cortex of both sexes; increased glutamate level was only observed in males. • Male and female EE offspring demonstrated anxiety-like behavior on the elevated plus maze and light dark test, but not when engaged in social interaction. • Overall, early-life EE promotes flexible response patterns between novel vs. familiar anxiety-provoking contexts.