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Published on: December 5, 2013
Neonatal handling alters brain organization but does not influence recovery from perinatal cortical injury
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. gibb@uleth.ca
Insights
Preweaning handling did not improve behavioral deficits or reverse brain changes in infant rats with medial frontal cortex removals. This early life stress intervention showed no therapeutic advantage for brain injury recovery.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Early life experiences, including handling, significantly impact brain and behavioral development.
- Perinatal injuries to brain regions like the medial frontal cortex can lead to lasting deficits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if preweaning handling could mitigate behavioral deficits and dendritic atrophy caused by perinatal medial frontal cortex injury in rats.
- To determine the therapeutic potential of early life handling in brain-injured developing rodents.
Main Methods:
- Rat pups underwent surgery for medial frontal cortex removal on postnatal Day 4.
- Post-surgery, pups were subjected to a handling protocol (15 min, 3 times daily) until weaning.
- Adult animals were assessed using the Morris water task and skilled reaching tests.
Main Results:
- Handled, brain-injured rats did not exhibit improved performance in behavioral tasks compared to unhandled controls.
- The handling procedure resulted in reduced dendritic length in the parietal cortex.
- Spine density in the parietal cortex remained unaffected by the handling intervention.
Conclusions:
- Preweaning handling does not offer a therapeutic benefit for attenuating behavioral deficits or reversing structural brain changes after perinatal medial frontal cortex injury.
- The results suggest that this specific handling paradigm may even negatively impact dendritic development in certain brain regions.
Abstract:
Handling rat pups by removing them from the nest during the preweaning period has been shown to influence brain and behavioral development. The authors hypothesized that handling rats with perinatal (Day 4) medial frontal cortex removals might attenuate behavioral deficits and reverse dendritic atrophy associated with such an injury. On the day after surgery, pups were removed from the nest for 15 min, 3 times per day until weaning. Animals were tested as adults in the Morris water task and on skilled reaching. Handled animals showed no improvement in behavioral performance. The handling procedure led to a decrease in dendritic length in parietal cortex, but spine density was unchanged. No therapeutic advantage was observed following the preweaning handling of brain-injured rats.
