Multiple 'hits' during postnatal and early adulthood periods disrupt the normal development of sensorimotor gating ability in rats

Jing Chen, Zucheng Wang, Ming Li

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the present study, we evaluated a multiple-hit animal model of schizophrenia in an attempt to capture the complex interactions among various adverse developmental factors in schizophrenia. Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to receive either repeated daily 3-h maternal separation for eight days (first 'hit') on postnatal days (PND) 3 to 10, and/or avoidance conditioning for six days (second 'hit') on PND 49-56, and/or repeated phencyclidine treatment (third 'hit', 3.0 mg/kg, sc) immediately after each daily avoidance conditioning. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of acoustic startle reflex was assessed at late adolescence (PND 41-43) and early adulthood (PND 62-63). The change in %PPI from the adolescence phase to adulthood phase was used to index the maturation-related improvement of sensorimotor gating ability. Maternal separation, avoidance conditioning and PCP treatment had a complex three-way interaction on the functional improvement of sensorimotor gating. Maternal separation impaired PPI improvement preferentially in the saline rats that were not subjected to avoidance conditioning. Avoidance conditioning had no effect on PPI improvement in the non-maternally separated rats, but restored the maternal separation-induced disruption. However, this restoration effect was abolished by PCP treatment. The present study also identified a number of behavioral, emotional and learning abnormalities caused by these three developmental insults which may precede their interactive disruption of normal development of sensorimotor gating ability.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)379-392
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Psychopharmacology
Volume25
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2011

Keywords

  • animal models of schizophrenia
  • avoidance conditioning
  • maternal separation
  • phencyclidine
  • prepulse inhibition
  • pup vocalization
  • stress

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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