Reproductive experience improves neurobehavioral changes in the mother's brain exposed to stress

SUAREZ M; AGUGGIA J; RIVAROLA MA

Congreso; International Congress of Neuroendocrinology; 2018

In mammals, behavioral and neurobiological changes occur throughout the female brain because of reproductive experience (RE). This functional modification remodels the neural circuits of the hippocampus and have a significant impact in cognition aspects. Changes in hippocampal neurogenesis and BDNF levels during RE and mother-pup separation, provide potential explanation for the changes in maternal cognitive performance during that period. Nulliparous (NP: none RE), Primiparous (PRI: one RE) and Multiparous (MULT: two RE) Wistar rats were use in the experiments. The PRI and MULT group were subjected to either animal facility rearing (C) or daily 4,5h of pups separation (S) from postpartum day (PPD) 1 to 21. Spatial memory was evaluated in the Barnes Maze (PPD 21-26). Cell survival and proliferation were evaluated by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry. Neurogenesis were also analyzed in age-matched NP females. Levels of BDNF were quantified in CA1, CA3 area of the dentate gyrus (DG). The results revealed that MULT and PRI-C dams showed a better performance in spatial memory demonstrated by less errors in their search (p≤0.02), PRI-C and MULT-C spent more time in the goal (p