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Time course of the effect of maternal deprivation on the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis in the infant rat
Author(s) -
Levine Seymour,
Huchton David M.,
Wiener Sandra G.,
Rosenfeld Patricia
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.420240803
Subject(s) - corticosterone , endocrinology , medicine , maternal deprivation , basal (medicine) , novelty , hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis , adrenocorticotropic hormone , disinhibition , glucocorticoid , psychology , hormone , neuroscience , social psychology , insulin
Prologed (i.e., 24‐hr) maternal deprivation leads to a marked disinhibition of the infant rat's adrenocortical response to stress and/or ACTH. In the following study we examined the time course over which these effects develop. Pups were maternally deprived for varying lengths of time (i.e., 0, 2, 4, 8, & 24 hr); at the end of this period, corticosterone (CORT) secretion in response to stress (novelty or novelty plus saline injection) and ACTH injection was measured. Basal levels of CORT increased progressively over time in 7‐and 11‐(but not 3‐) day‐old pups. CORT release in response to stress followed a similar pattern. In contrast, ACTH injection resulted in marked increases in CORT levels regardless of the length of maternal deprivation in 3‐day‐old animals; at older ages, however, 24 hr of deprivation led to a much larger increase. These findings support the hypothesis that the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis of the neonatal rat is subject to maternal regulation.