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Maternal separation in neonatal rats elicits activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis: a putative role for corticotropin-releasing factor.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Pihoker, C; Owens, MJ; Kuhn, CM; Schanberg, SM; Nemeroff, CB
Published in: Psychoneuroendocrinology
1993

Stress elicits activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. Hypothalamic neurohormones, including corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), control and promote ACTH secretion and subsequent glucocorticoid synthesis and release. The neonatal rat has been shown to be relatively hyporesponsive to certain stressors, generating a blunted or unmeasurable hormonal response. In this study, the endocrine response of 10- and 18-day-old Sprague-Dawley rat pups to maternal separation, a naturalistic stressor, was examined. Ten-day pups subjected to maternal separation exhibited a significant reduction in median eminence CRF concentration at 24 h, with no change in pituitary CRF receptor number; in 18-day pups there was no significant change in median eminence CRF concentration by 24 h, but there was a decrease in CRF receptor binding. In adult rats subjected to stressors, an acute decrease in CRF concentration in the median eminence occurs, followed by CRF receptor downregulation with sustained stress. The results observed in the 18-day pups vs. the 10-day pups likely reflects a maturation of the HPA axis response to "stressors."

Duke Scholars

Published In

Psychoneuroendocrinology

DOI

ISSN

0306-4530

Publication Date

1993

Volume

18

Issue

7

Start / End Page

485 / 493

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Rats
  • Psychiatry
  • Pituitary-Adrenal System
  • Maternal Deprivation
  • Male
  • Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
  • Growth Hormone
  • Female
 

Citation

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Pihoker, C., Owens, M. J., Kuhn, C. M., Schanberg, S. M., & Nemeroff, C. B. (1993). Maternal separation in neonatal rats elicits activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis: a putative role for corticotropin-releasing factor. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 18(7), 485–493. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4530(93)90042-j
Pihoker, C., M. J. Owens, C. M. Kuhn, S. M. Schanberg, and C. B. Nemeroff. “Maternal separation in neonatal rats elicits activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis: a putative role for corticotropin-releasing factor.Psychoneuroendocrinology 18, no. 7 (1993): 485–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4530(93)90042-j.
Pihoker, C., et al. “Maternal separation in neonatal rats elicits activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis: a putative role for corticotropin-releasing factor.Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 18, no. 7, 1993, pp. 485–93. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/0306-4530(93)90042-j.
Journal cover image

Published In

Psychoneuroendocrinology

DOI

ISSN

0306-4530

Publication Date

1993

Volume

18

Issue

7

Start / End Page

485 / 493

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Receptors, Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Rats
  • Psychiatry
  • Pituitary-Adrenal System
  • Maternal Deprivation
  • Male
  • Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
  • Growth Hormone
  • Female