Abstract

REPEATED MATERNAL SEPARATION DURING EARLY LIFE INDUCES ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR OF ADULT BALB/C MICE

Zouhra Doukkali*, Bahia Belatar, Rachad Alnamer, Yahia Cherrah and Katim Alaoui

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Abstract

Early life adversity plays a major role in the etiology of mood and anxiety disorders. Previous studies have shown that postnatal maternal separation (MS) can induce marked behavioral and physiological impairments in adulthood including anxiety, depression, cognitive deficits, and others dysfunction. In this study, we sought to assess behavioral outcomes from early-life stress paradigms, by different tests such as open-field test, a hole board test, a light–dark box test and an elevated plus-maze test of adult Balb/c mice. Pups were separated from their dam and littermates for 180 min/day („MS‟) from postnatal days P0-P21, control rats remained undisturbed. At 70 days old, male offspring were either tested for anxiety- related behaviors. The results showed that MS reduced Motor coordination in rotarod test, and increased anxiety-like behaviors in the light–dark box test, in the open-field test, in hole board test and the elevated plus-maze test in adult Balb/c mice. EMS rats displayed greater anxiety behavior vs. controls. The present study provides novel insights into the effects of MS on behavior.

Keywords: Behavior, Early-life stress, maternal separation, Anxiety, Balb/c mice.