Long-term Effects of Neonatal Surgery in Mice: Are Adulthood Alterations in Anxiety, Pain Sensitivity, Learning & Memory Mediated by the Early Activation of the Stress Response
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2006
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Haverford College. Department of Psychology
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Thesis
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
The current study investigated whether or not the long-term effects of a neonatal surgical procedure are mediated by early activation of the stress response. Mouse pups underwent a laparotomy (pain and stress) or a sham surgical procedure (pain without stress) on the day of birth. Post-operatively, half of the mice were treated with a single subcutaneous injection of anxiolytic (buspirone; 2 mg/kg) while the other half received an injection of saline. An additional group of mice served as unhandled controls. In adulthood, mice underwent testing to assess the effects of early-life condition, drug treatment, sex, and age on pain sensitivity, basal and stressor-induced anxiety, and spatial learning ability. Group differences in neural activation in brain regions associated with stress and learning were also assessed using c-fos immunohistochemistry. The decrease in pain sensitivity seen on the hot plate test in mice that underwent neonatal surgery was reversed by the post-operative administration of buspirone. Main effects of early-life condition and drug treatment provide further support for the hypothesis that long-term alterations in adulthood behavior caused by early-life pain are mediated by the stress response.