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Maternal care, hippocampal synaptogenesis and cognitive development in rats

D Liu1, J Diorio, J C Day

  • 1Developmental Neuroendocrinology Laboratory, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, 6875 Boul. LaSalle, Montréal H4H 1R3, Canada.

Nature Neuroscience
|July 21, 2000
PubMed

We report that variations in maternal care in the rat promote hippocampal synaptogenesis and spatial learning and memory through systems known to mediate experience-dependent neural development. Thus, the offspring of mothers that show high levels of pup licking and grooming and arched-back nursing showed increased expression of NMDA receptor subunit and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA, increased cholinergic innervation of the hippocampus and enhanced spatial learning and memory. A cross-fostering study provided evidence for a direct relationship between maternal behavior and hippocampal development, although not all neonates were equally sensitive to variations in maternal care.

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