Analysis
of the Effects of Stress on Developmental Assembly of CNS Circuitry
Following
the success of the pseudorabies
project, the Network initiated a
follow-up project to study the effects of stress on the formation of
neural connections from the forebrain to the brainstem (the vital core
components of the brain controlling functions essential for survival,
including respiration, heart rhythm, blood pressure, eating, drinking,
and sleep).
This
study was designed to help determine how different early experiences in
rats cause changes in how early connections between the forebrain and
brainstem are established - either in how the connections are
organized, or when the connections are formed. The experiment found
that the underlying biological mechanisms for handling stress as adult
rats change as a result of stressful experiences (handling and
separation) encountered as pups. Rat pups that are repeatedly handled
and separated from their mother exhibit altered adult behavioral,
endocrine, and autonomic responses to stress, but the extent to which
early handling and/or
maternal separation alters the development of circuits
that underlie these
responses was previously unknown.
Card
JP, Levitt P, Gluhovsky M, Rinaman L. (2005) Early experience modifies
the postnatal assembly of autonomic emotional motor circuits in rats. J
Neurosci. Oct
5;25(40):9102-11.
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