Research article summary (published 29 Jun 2009):

Early maternal separation increases symptoms of activity-based anorexia in male and female rats.

Full Abstract

Running activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, increasing the release of stress hormones known to exert anorexic effects. HPA axis reactivity is strongly influenced by early postnatal manipulations, including removal of pups from the dam for short (handling) or prolonged (maternal separation) durations during the preweaning period. The authors examined the effects of handling and maternal separation on food intake, body weight loss, and running rates of young adult male and female rats in the activity-based anorexia (ABA) paradigm. Postnatal treatment did not affect adaptation to a 1-hr restricted feeding schedule before the introduction of wheel running. During the ABA paradigm, maternally separated animals lost weight faster, ate less, ran more, and required fewer days to reach removal criterion compared with handled rats. Females were particularly vulnerable. These findings indicate that early postnatal treatment and sex influence ABA.

Author information

Author/s: Hancock, Stephanie (S); Grant, Virginia (V);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Science Building SN2065, St. John's A1B 3X9, Canada. sdhnecck(-atsign-)mta.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes (J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 35 (issue 3) : pp 394-406

Dates: Created 2009/07/14; Completed 2009/09/17;

PMID: 19594284, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/17/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Animals Anorexia Nervosa - psychology Disease Models, Animal Feeding Behavior Female Food Deprivation Handling (Psychology) Male

Male Maternal Deprivation Motor Activity Rats Rats, Sprague-Dawley Reinforcement Schedule Sex Factors Weight Loss

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