Effects of neonatal training using the mother as either a rewarding or frustrative stimulus on the dopaminergic system in the developing and adult rat brain

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Effects of neonatal training using the mother as either a rewarding or frustrative stimulus on the dopaminergic system in the developing and adult rat brain Androniki Raftogianni1*, Anna-Maria Kollia1, Antonios Stamatakis1, Filaretos Alikaridis2 and Fotini Stylianopoulou1 1 University of Athens, Lab of Biology-Biochemistry, Faculty of Nursing, Greece 2 Athens University, Dep. of Biochemistry, Medical School, Greece The mother is an extremely salient stimulus for the neonates and seeking for her is a powerful inherent drive. Based on the above we have developed a novel experimental system in which rat pups learn a T- maze during postnatal days 10-13, using contact with the mother either as a positive reinforcer or its denial as a frustrative non-reward. Since the dopaminergic system is a pivotal component of the reward system, in the present work we determined the levels of dopamine and its metabolites by HPLC, and those of D1 and D2 receptors by immunohistochemistry and autoradiographic in vitro binding in the rat brain on postnatal day 13 (PND13) - 2 hours after the last training trial in the T-maze - and in adulthood. We found that 13 day old rat pups trained under continuous reward had higher levels of D1 receptors as well as dopamine and its metabolites in the striatum. These findings indicate a general activation of the dopaminergic system in the striatum and could be related to the reward which the pups received through the contact with their mother. The early experience of training under either continuous reward or frustration had long term-effects on the dopaminergic system of the adult brain. In the prefrontal cortex of adult animals trained as neonates under continuous frustration there was decreased dopamine availability and D1 levels, indicating a state of hypofrontality in these animals. D2 receptor levels were increased in the striatum of neonates subjected to the neonatal training, compared to the controls. D2 receptor levels in the striatum of the control animals increased with age, while in the animals subjected to the neonatal training D2 receptor levels remained the same as those on PND13, suggesting that exposure to the early experience of training resulted in premature development of D2 receptors. Our results document that early experiences affect the dopaminergic system whose function is disturbed in psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and ADHD Conference: 41st European Brain and Behaviour Society Meeting, Rhodes Island, Greece, 13 Sep - 18 Sep, 2009. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster presentations Citation: Raftogianni A, Kollia A, Stamatakis A, Alikaridis F and Stylianopoulou F (2009). Effects of neonatal training using the mother as either a rewarding or frustrative stimulus on the dopaminergic system in the developing and adult rat brain. Conference Abstract: 41st European Brain and Behaviour Society Meeting. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.08.2009.09.271 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 12 Jun 2009; Published Online: 12 Jun 2009. * Correspondence: Androniki Raftogianni, University of Athens, Lab of Biology-Biochemistry, Faculty of Nursing, Athens, Greece, niki.raftogianni@hotmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Androniki Raftogianni Anna-Maria Kollia Antonios Stamatakis Filaretos Alikaridis Fotini Stylianopoulou Google Androniki Raftogianni Anna-Maria Kollia Antonios Stamatakis Filaretos Alikaridis Fotini Stylianopoulou Google Scholar Androniki Raftogianni Anna-Maria Kollia Antonios Stamatakis Filaretos Alikaridis Fotini Stylianopoulou PubMed Androniki Raftogianni Anna-Maria Kollia Antonios Stamatakis Filaretos Alikaridis Fotini Stylianopoulou Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.