Poster session: Nitschke Hall 9:00-11:00 AM

Poster Board No. 001

THE EFFECTS OF NATURAL FLUCTUATIONS IN EARLY MATERNAL CARE ON THE AFFECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL STATES OF THE OFFSPRING OF LONG-EVANS RATS. Ashley M. McFarland (amcfarl@bgnet.bgsu.edu), Travis J. Beckwith (tbeckwi@bgnet.bgsu.edu), Trang Tran (ttran@bgsu.edu), Megan Greenwald (mgreenw@bgnet.bgsu.edu), Howard C. Cromwell (hcc@bgsu.edu). Dept of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403.

Maternal care in rodents is a strong determinate of lifelong stress responsiveness and emotional regulation. The goal of this study is to observe the natural fluctuations of maternal care in rodents and examine the effects of these fluctuations on the affective and behavioral states of offspring throughout development. Maternal care is observed for 8 days after birth. Using mean levels of arched back nursing and maternal licking and grooming (MLG), the dams are categorized into high MLG and low MLG groups. Out of 28 dams observed, 3 displayed high levels of licking and grooming and 4 displayed low levels of licking and grooming. The pups of these litters were then run through 2 tests: 1) response to isolation and 2) condition odor. For (1), each pup is isolated for 2 minutes at postnatal day 10. For (2), on PND 15, a place preference test is conducted where pups can choose to remain in a maternal odor-paired environment or a neutral odor environment. As an indicator of affective state, ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are recorded during each behavioral test. Rats emit 20-40kHz frequency calls during isolation distress when they have been separated from the dam to prompt pup retrieval and MLG. Results were analyzed using inferential statistics including analysis of variance and post-hoc T tests. There proved to be a significant main effect between MLG condition (high, medium, and low) and number of isolation USVs during each test: Isolation, F(2,337)=8.589, p<0.001; and COP, F(2,350)=3.743, p=0.025. Post-hoc t-test indicate a significant difference between high and low animals in each test: Isolation, t(101)= 3.486, p= 0.001; COP, t(86)= 3.668, p<0.001.

Poster Board No.002

THE EFFECTS OF PRENATAL FLUOXETINE EXPOSURE ON THE AFFECTIVE AND BEHAVIORAL STATES OF THE OFFSPRING OF LONG-EVANS RATS. Megan Greenwald, mgreenw@bgnet.bgsu.edu., (Howard C. Cromwell) hcc@bgnet.bgsu.edu, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green OH 43403.

Exposure to pharmaceutical agents during gestation can have a profound impact on postnatal behavior. Most studies regarding the teratogenic effects of fluoxetine using both humans and animal models have focused on gross physical abnormalities. The goal of this study is to determine the effect of prenatal exposure to fluoxetine (8 mg/kg/day) on several social and emotional behavioral measures: maternal licking and grooming, conditioned odor preference, novel odor approach and juvenile play behavior. Prenatally exposed animals were compared to animals without prenatal exposure to any medications. Maternal care was studied for eight days after birth, measuring levels of arched back nursing and maternal licking and grooming. The pups were then subjected to three additional tests: 1) response to isolation, 2) conditioned odor preference (COP), and 3) play behavior. Ultrasonic vocalizations were recorded during each behavioral test as a measure of the affective status of the animal. For (1), each pup was isolated on postnatal day 10 for 2 minutes. For (2), a place preference test was conducted on postnatal day 15; rat pups can choose to spend time in an area with either a maternal-paired odor or a neutral-paired odor. In (3), beginning on postnatal day 24, pups were weight-matched to a littermate, isolated, then allowed to interact in a testing chamber for 5 minutes every other day for 6 days. Results were analyzed using inferential statistics including analysis of variance and post-hoc T-tests. Findings from this study have implications for understanding the impact of early exposure to medication on psychological development.

Poster Board No.003

PERINATAL PCB ALTERS SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN JUVENILE MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS. Banafsheh Jolous-Jamshidi. bjolous@bgsu.edu, Ashley McFarland (amcfarl@bgsu.edu), Howard C. Cromwell. hcc@bgsu.edu, and (Lee A. Meserve) Imesery@bgsu.edu. Dept of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green OH 43403-0208.

Social recognition is a class of behavior that is responsible for pair bonding and attachment to other members of the species. Brain circuits responsible for bringing about this behavior are present in the central and medial amygdala as well as ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) which contain oxytocin receptors. Oxytocin producing neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and preoptic area of the brain project to these areas and have been indicated to modulate social recognition. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are a class of environmental toxicants that can exert effects at both the cellular and behavioral levels. They exert toxic effects on nearly every part of the body including the brain especially during development. In the present study, the effects of a mixture of PCB 47 and 77 have been measured on circulating oxytocin levels, the area of the PVN and social recognition in juvenile male Spraque-Dawley rats. Rat offspring were either from control dams (offspring N = 18) or were exposed to low-doses of PCB [12.5 (n = 15) or 25 ppm (N = 15)] perinatally via the maternal diet. Social recognition was determined in juvenile rats under red light on postnatal day 21 using connected social (containing either a familiar of unfamiliar rat) and non-social (empty) cage boxes to determine relative time spent in each box. PVN area was measured microscopically in brain slices, and oxytocin was measured with a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. The difference in the investigation time of PCB animals as compared to controls between the social and non-social boxes (approx. 30 % more time in the social box than controls with familiar and 10% greater with unfamiliar fat) suggests that the 25 ppm dose of PCB causes subtle disruption in social recognition. However, PVN areas and circulating concentrations of oxytocin were not significantly altered by PCB (p > 0.05). These results could indicate that low doses of PCB 47 and 77 do not appreciably affect the morphology of brain areas or modulatory hormones, and that PCB influences social recognition by other means.