Endocrine and behavioural plasticity in response to juvenile stress in the semi-precocial rodent Octodon degus.
Psychoneuroendocrinology
; 31(3): 361-72, 2006 Apr.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-16274934
ABSTRACT
The present study in the South American rodent Octodon degus shows for the first time that the postnatal development of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in this semi-precocial species differs from that of altricial rodents, i.e. rats or mice, in several aspects. Our experiments revealed a particular pattern of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity during the first 3 weeks of life characterized by (i) a period of low plasma glucocorticoid concentrations, during which (ii) brief stress exposure (1 h parental separation) is able to elevate glucocorticoids significantly. In addition, (iii) repeated stress exposure (1 h parental separation daily) during the first 3 weeks of life resulted in females, but not in males, in an attenuated separation-induced increase of glucocorticoids, and a higher behavioural activity in both sexes at postnatal day 21. These data indicate that parental separation early in life acts as a 'strong' stressor in this species, which on the long run can alter endocrine stress response at the time of weaning in a sex-specific manner. These findings support the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis as one of the key factors mediating the effects of early life stress on the neuronal network and behaviour in O. degus.
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Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Aislamiento Social
/
Estrés Psicológico
/
Conducta Animal
/
Corticosterona
/
Hidrocortisona
/
Octodon
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Año:
2006
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Alemania