Abstract
Short periods of maternal separation of neonatal rats are known to induce attenuated behavioural and neuroendocrine responses to stress in adult life. The present study was carried out to evaluate whether 15 min separation from the dam during postnatal days 1–21 (MS15) can induce long-term changes in brain opioid (κ- and δ-receptors) and opioid receptor-like 1 (ORL1) densities in male Sprague–Dawley rats. Receptor autoradiography indicated that MS15 rats had increased δ-receptor density in the basomedial amygdala compared to animal facility reared rats 2 months after MS15. No differences in brain κ- or ORL1-receptor density were found. The results indicate that a manipulation early in life can induce persistent neurochemical changes in the δ-opioid receptor system, which suggests involvement of δ-opioid receptors in the altered emotional processing in these rats.
Published Version
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