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Using Chronic Social Stress to Model Postpartum Depression in Lactating Rodents
Published on: June 10, 2013
Neurodevelopmental sequelae of postnatal maternal care in rodents: clinical and research implications of molecular
Arie Kaffman1, Michael J Meaney
1Abraham Ribicoff Labs, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06598, USA. arie.kaffman@yale.edu
Insights
Maternal care, like licking and grooming, significantly impacts offspring neurodevelopment. This early life experience influences gene expression and behavior, with lasting effects into adulthood.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Parental care is crucial for offspring emotional and cognitive development.
- Abuse or neglect is linked to psychopathologies, while positive bonding enhances stress resilience.
- Mammalian studies suggest conserved neurodevelopmental aspects of parent-offspring interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of maternal licking and grooming frequency in neurodevelopment.
- To explore the long-term functional consequences of early sensory experiences on brain development.
- To assess the relevance of rodent findings to non-human primates and humans.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of maternal care frequency (licking and grooming) during critical developmental periods in rodents.
- Examination of DNA methylation changes in gene promoters.
- Assessment of behavioral outcomes and their persistence into adulthood.
Main Results:
- Frequency of maternal licking and grooming during a critical period modifies neurodevelopment.
- Early maternal care is associated with changes in DNA methylation of specific genes.
- These epigenetic modifications may maintain altered gene expression and behavioral traits throughout life.
Conclusions:
- Postnatal maternal care, specifically licking and grooming, has profound and lasting effects on offspring neurodevelopment.
- DNA methylation provides a molecular mechanism for maintaining the effects of early life experiences.
- Findings in rodents have implications for understanding human and primate development and psychopathology.
Abstract:
Parental care plays an important role in the emotional and cognitive development of the offspring. Children who have been exposed to abuse or neglect are more likely to develop numerous psychopathologies, while good parent-infant bonding is associated with improved resiliency to stress. Similar observations have also been reported in non-human primates and rodents, suggesting that at least some neurodevelopmental aspects of parent-offspring interactions are conserved among mammals and could therefore be studied in animals. We present data to suggest that frequency of licking and grooming provided by the dam during a critical period in development plays an important role in modifying neurodevelopment. These findings are examined in the broader context in which exposure to other sensory modalities such as vision or hearing during a specific period in development shapes brain development with functional consequences that persist into adulthood. We also discuss recent rodent work showing that increased frequency of licking and grooming provided by the dam during the first week of life is associated with changes in DNA methylation of promoter elements that control expression of these genes and behavior. The stability of DNA methylation in postmitotic cells provides a possible molecular scaffold by which changes in gene expression and behavioral traits induced by postnatal maternal care are maintained throughout life. Finally, the relevance of findings reported in rodents to those noted in non-human primates and humans are assessed and the research and clinical implications of these observations for future work are explored.
