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Open Access 09-06-2023 | Anxiety | Psychiatry and Preclinical Psychiatric Studies - Original Article

Maternal separation and its developmental consequences on anxiety and parvalbumin interneurons in the amygdala

Authors: Mate Abraham, Kirsten Schmerder, Malin Hedtstück, Kimberly Bösing, Annakarina Mundorf, Nadja Freund

Published in: Journal of Neural Transmission | Issue 9/2023

Abstract

The early postnatal period represents an exceptionally vulnerable phase for the development of neurobiological alterations, aberrant behavior, and psychiatric disorders. Altered GABAergic activity in the hippocampus and the amygdala have been identified in humans diagnosed with depression or anxiety disorders, as well as in respective animal models. Changes in GABAergic activity can be visualized by immunohistochemical staining of parvalbumin (PV) protein. Therewith, alterations in PV intensity as well as in the integrity of the perineural net surrounding PV positive (PV+) interneurons have been reported as consequences of early stress. In the current study, maternal separation (MS) was used to induce early life stress. Female and male Sprague–Dawley rats were subjected to MS over 4 h from postnatal days 2–20. Then, anxiety behavior and PV+ interneurons in the amygdala were analyzed using immunohistochemistry in adolescence or adulthood. MS induced increased anxiety behavior in the marble-burying test in adolescence as well as in the elevated plus maze in adulthood. No effect of sex was found. Concerning alterations of parvalbumin expression in the amygdala, a trend towards a lower number of parvalbumin-positive inhibitory interneurons was shown in the amygdala after MS in adolescence, with no differences in the total number of cells. The current study offers a developmental perspective, suggesting that the kind of anxiety behavior expressed by rats following MS changes over time from active to passive avoidance, indicating that effects of MS are highly dependent on developmental state. Moreover, a cell-type-specific effect of MS on the cellular composition of the amygdala is discussed. The presented study demonstrates the long-lasting consequences of early stress on behavior, offers a possible neurobiological correlate, and discusses possible mediators in the development of these alterations.

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Title: Maternal separation and its developmental consequences on anxiety and parvalbumin interneurons in the amygdala
Authors: Mate Abraham
Kirsten Schmerder
Malin Hedtstück
Kimberly Bösing
Annakarina Mundorf
Nadja Freund
Publication date: 09-06-2023
Publisher: Springer Vienna
Keyword: Anxiety
Published in: Journal of Neural Transmission / Issue 9/2023
Print ISSN: 0300-9564
Electronic ISSN: 1435-1463
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-023-02657-y

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Maternal separation and its developmental consequences on anxiety and parvalbumin interneurons in the amygdala

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