Early protein malnutrition facilitates depressive-like behaviors in rats that experienced maternal separation

TORTONI G.; PERONDI M.C.; CUADRA G.; VALDOMERO A.

Huerta Grande, Córdoba

Congreso; XXVIII Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones en Neurociencias; 2013

Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones en Neurociencias (SAN)

This study was performed to evaluate the influence of early undernutrition on the behavioral consequences of maternal separation in adult rats. To this aim, half of the animals submitted to a protein malnutrition schedule at perinatal age (D-rats) and well-nourished animals (C-rats), were separated from dam daily for 180 min from postnatal day 1 (PND 1) until PND 10 (MS-group). The other half remained undisturbed (NMS-group). Using animal models commonly employed to assess depressive-like or anxiety-like behaviors, different groups of adult rats were subjected to the sucrose preference test, forced swim test, behavioral sessions for ambulatory activity and elevated plus maze. Thus, sucrose preference significantly decreased in D-MS and D-NMS group compared with C- rats (MS and NMS). Moreover, rats in D-MS group exhibited higher immobility time in the forced swim test and lower ambulatory activity than rats in other groups (D-NMS, C-NMS and C-MS). No differences were found in the time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze. These results suggest that the early nutritional insult could increase the risk of occurrence of anhedonia, a core symptom of depression, and facilitates depressive-like behaviors during adulthood in rats exposed to maternal separation.