Periodic exposure to mother is potent zeitgeber of rat pups' rhythm.

To study the possibility and potency of periodic maternal deprivation (PMD) in entraining the circadian rhythm of rat pups, access to the natural mother of which pups were optically enucleated on the day of birth (day 1) was restricted to either light phase (L-group) or dark phase (D-group) for various durations beginning on various days during the nursing period. Drinking rhythm of both groups was determined once per one or two weeks between the 4th and 8th postnatal week. The corticosterone rhythm was determined to confirm the results obtained by the measurement of water intake. Both rhythms were clearly observed by 5 weeks of age, and a reversed phase relationship was observed even when PMD was performed for a short period during days 1-4 or days 15-21. On the other hand, no phase angle difference was observed between L- and D-groups, when pups were periodically exposed to their original mother either during days 1-2 or days 18-21. These facts indicate that periodic exposure to mother can set the phase of the blinded pups' rhythm and that the period required for entrainment of the rhythm is as short as 4 or 7 days in the early or late times during the nursing period respectively, showing the high potency of PMD in entraining the circadian rhythm of blinded pups.