Effects of Maternal Deprivation and Complex Housing on Rat Social Behavior in Adolescence and Adulthood
Early life context and stressful experiences are known to increase the risk of developing psychiatric disorders later in life, including disorders with deficits in the social domain. Our study aimed to investigate the influence of early life environment on social behavior in a well-controlled animal...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00193/full |
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| author | Jiska Kentrop Claire R. Smid E. J. M. Achterberg Marinus H. van IJzendoorn Marinus H. van IJzendoorn Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg Marian Joëls Marian Joëls Rixt van der Veen Rixt van der Veen |
| author_facet | Jiska Kentrop Claire R. Smid E. J. M. Achterberg Marinus H. van IJzendoorn Marinus H. van IJzendoorn Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg Marian Joëls Marian Joëls Rixt van der Veen Rixt van der Veen |
| author_sort | Jiska Kentrop |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Early life context and stressful experiences are known to increase the risk of developing psychiatric disorders later in life, including disorders with deficits in the social domain. Our study aimed to investigate the influence of early life environment on social behavior in a well-controlled animal model. To this end we tested the effects of maternal deprivation (MD) on rat social play behavior in adolescence and social interaction in adulthood. Additionally, we provided a stimulating environment during adolescence (complex housing) as a potential intervention to diminish the effects of early life stress. Male and female Wistar rats were deprived from their mother for 24 h on postnatal day 3 (PND 3) or were left undisturbed. Complex housing started 5 days after weaning and consisted of housing 10 same-sex conspecifics in large, two-floor MarlauTM cages until the end of the study. Social play behavior in adolescence was tested under different conditions (3 h vs. 24 h social isolation prior to testing). Maternally deprived males – but not females – showed a longer latency to play and a decreased total amount of social play behavior, after a 24 h isolation period. In adulthood, social discrimination was impaired in deprived male and female rats in the three-chamber social approach task. Complex housing did not moderate the effects of MD, but in itself induced a strong behavioral phenotype. Both complex housed males and females hardly displayed any play behavior after a 3 h isolation period. However, after 24 h of isolation, these animals showed shorter latencies to engage in social play behavior. Only complex housed males truly showed more social play behavior here, while showing less social interest in adulthood. We conclude that MD has mild negative effects on social behavior in adolescence and adulthood, which are not counteracted by complex housing. Complex housing induces a specific phenotype associated with rapid habituation; a lack of social play after short isolation periods, while increasing play behavior after a prolonged period of isolation in adolescence, and less social interest, paired with intact social discrimination in adulthood. In both early life settings, males seem to be more influenced by the early life environment compared to females. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T06:04:17Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T06:04:17Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-9da75c6de1174b9da89e742149bedfc22022-12-22T00:35:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532018-09-011210.3389/fnbeh.2018.00193392699Effects of Maternal Deprivation and Complex Housing on Rat Social Behavior in Adolescence and AdulthoodJiska Kentrop0Claire R. Smid1E. J. M. Achterberg2Marinus H. van IJzendoorn3Marinus H. van IJzendoorn4Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg5Marian Joëls6Marian Joëls7Rixt van der Veen8Rixt van der Veen9Department of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsDepartment of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsDepartment of Animals in Science and Society, Division of Behavioral Neuroscience, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, NetherlandsPrimary Care Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomFaculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsDepartment of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsUniversity Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, NetherlandsDepartment of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NetherlandsFaculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, NetherlandsEarly life context and stressful experiences are known to increase the risk of developing psychiatric disorders later in life, including disorders with deficits in the social domain. Our study aimed to investigate the influence of early life environment on social behavior in a well-controlled animal model. To this end we tested the effects of maternal deprivation (MD) on rat social play behavior in adolescence and social interaction in adulthood. Additionally, we provided a stimulating environment during adolescence (complex housing) as a potential intervention to diminish the effects of early life stress. Male and female Wistar rats were deprived from their mother for 24 h on postnatal day 3 (PND 3) or were left undisturbed. Complex housing started 5 days after weaning and consisted of housing 10 same-sex conspecifics in large, two-floor MarlauTM cages until the end of the study. Social play behavior in adolescence was tested under different conditions (3 h vs. 24 h social isolation prior to testing). Maternally deprived males – but not females – showed a longer latency to play and a decreased total amount of social play behavior, after a 24 h isolation period. In adulthood, social discrimination was impaired in deprived male and female rats in the three-chamber social approach task. Complex housing did not moderate the effects of MD, but in itself induced a strong behavioral phenotype. Both complex housed males and females hardly displayed any play behavior after a 3 h isolation period. However, after 24 h of isolation, these animals showed shorter latencies to engage in social play behavior. Only complex housed males truly showed more social play behavior here, while showing less social interest in adulthood. We conclude that MD has mild negative effects on social behavior in adolescence and adulthood, which are not counteracted by complex housing. Complex housing induces a specific phenotype associated with rapid habituation; a lack of social play after short isolation periods, while increasing play behavior after a prolonged period of isolation in adolescence, and less social interest, paired with intact social discrimination in adulthood. In both early life settings, males seem to be more influenced by the early life environment compared to females.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00193/fullearly life stressmaternal deprivationcomplex housingenvironmental enrichmentsocial playbehavior |
| spellingShingle | Jiska Kentrop Claire R. Smid E. J. M. Achterberg Marinus H. van IJzendoorn Marinus H. van IJzendoorn Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg Marian Joëls Marian Joëls Rixt van der Veen Rixt van der Veen Effects of Maternal Deprivation and Complex Housing on Rat Social Behavior in Adolescence and Adulthood Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience early life stress maternal deprivation complex housing environmental enrichment social play behavior |
| title | Effects of Maternal Deprivation and Complex Housing on Rat Social Behavior in Adolescence and Adulthood |
| title_full | Effects of Maternal Deprivation and Complex Housing on Rat Social Behavior in Adolescence and Adulthood |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Maternal Deprivation and Complex Housing on Rat Social Behavior in Adolescence and Adulthood |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Maternal Deprivation and Complex Housing on Rat Social Behavior in Adolescence and Adulthood |
| title_short | Effects of Maternal Deprivation and Complex Housing on Rat Social Behavior in Adolescence and Adulthood |
| title_sort | effects of maternal deprivation and complex housing on rat social behavior in adolescence and adulthood |
| topic | early life stress maternal deprivation complex housing environmental enrichment social play behavior |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00193/full |
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