Effects of artificial rearing on electrophysiology and behavior in adult rats

✍ Scribed by Wendy M. Kaneko; Edward P. Riley; Cindy L. Ehlers

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 172 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1091-4269
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1520-6394(1996)4:6<279::aid-da4>3.0.co;2-7

✦ Synopsis

Maternal separation during crucial periods of development can lead to both physiological and behavioral sequelae. However, the exact consequences of maternal separation are paradigm dependent. The present study utilized complete artificial rearing (AR) to evaluate the effects of maternal separation on behavioral and electrophysiological functioning. In this procedure thermoregulation and weight gain progress are normal, but pups are deprived of any maternal influence from postnatal day 4 to 12. Artificial rearing was found to have no effect on EEG as assessed using spectral analyses. However, the N1 component of the auditory event-related potential (ERP) in artificially reared rats was significantly delayed. Artificial rearing had no effect on overall locomotor activity, but artificially reared rats were more behaviorally inhibited than suckled controls in the open field. This study suggests that artificial rearing or chronic maternal separation (24 h/day from PN4 to PN12), while not producing gross behavioral effects, can produce selective enduring alterations in neurosensory responses.