Lucion Aldo B, Pereira Francine M, Winkelman Elisa C, Sanvitto Gilberto L, Anselmo-Franci Janete A
Dept de Fisiologia, Inst de Ciencias Basicas da Saude, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Sarmento Leite 500, Porto Alegre RS 90050-170, Brazil.
Behav Neurosci. 2003 Oct;117(5):894-903. doi: 10.1037/0735-7044.117.5.894.
Neonatal handling induces long-lasting effects on behaviors and stress responses. The objective of the present study was to analyze the effects of neonatal handling (from the 1st to the 10th day after delivery) on the number of cells and volume of locus coeruleus (LC) nucleus in male and female rats at 4 different ages: 11, 26, 35, and 90 days. Results showed significant reductions in the number of cells and the volume of the LC nucleus in neonatally handled males and females compared with nonhandled rats. Environmental stimulation early in life induced a stable structural change in a central noradrenergic nucleus, which could be one of the causal factors for the behavioral and hormonal alterations observed in adulthood.
新生期处理对行为和应激反应具有持久影响。本研究的目的是分析新生期处理（分娩后第1天至第10天）对4个不同年龄（11、26、35和90天）的雄性和雌性大鼠蓝斑（LC）核的细胞数量和体积的影响。结果显示，与未处理的大鼠相比，新生期处理的雄性和雌性大鼠的LC核细胞数量和体积均显著减少。生命早期的环境刺激在一个中枢去甲肾上腺素能核中诱导了稳定的结构变化，这可能是成年期观察到的行为和激素改变的因果因素之一。
