Original scientific paper

LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION ON THE VOLUME, NUMBER AND SIZE OF NEURONS IN THE AMYGDALA AND NUCLEUS ACCUMBENS OF RATS

Dubravka Aleksić ; Institute of Anatomy “Niko Miljanic”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Milan Aksić ; Institute of Anatomy “Niko Miljanic”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Nevena V. Radonjić ; Institute of Clinical and Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Aleksandar Jovanović ; Clinic for Psychiatry, Clinical Center of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Branka Marković ; Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Nataša Petronijević ; Institute of Clinical and Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Vidosava Radonjić ; Institute of Anatomy “Niko Miljanic”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Miloš Mališ ; Institute of Anatomy “Niko Miljanic”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Branislav Filipović ; Institute of Anatomy “Niko Miljanic”, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract

Background: Maternal deprivation (MD) in rodents is an important neurodevelopmental model for studying a variety of
behavioral changes which closely resemble the symptoms of schizophrenia in humans.
Subjects and methods: To determine whether early-life stress leads to changes in the limbic system structures: the amygdala and
the nucleus accumbens, 9-day-old Wistar rats were exposed to 24 hour MD. On P60 the rats were sacrificed for morphometric
analysis and their brains were compared to the control group.
Results: Results show that MD affected important limbic system structures: the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens, whose
volume was decreased (17 % of the control value for the amygdala and 9% of the control value for the nucleus accumbens ), as well
as the number of neurons (41 % of the control value for the amygdala and 43% of the control value for the nucleus accumbens ) and
the size of their cells soma (12% of the control value for the amygdala and 33% of the control value for the nucleus accumbens ).
Conclusion: This study indicates that early stress in life leads to changes in the morphology of the limbic areas of the brain,
most probably due to the loss of neurons during postnatal development, and it further contributes to our understanding of the effects
of maternal deprivation on brain development.

Keywords

amygdala; nucleus accumbens; neurons; volume; cell soma; maternal deprivation; schizophrenia; limbic system; rats

Hrčak ID:

175495

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/175495

Publication date:

15.9.2016.

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