Development of cocaine sensitization before pregnancy affects subsequent maternal retrieval of pups and prefrontal cortical activity during nursing.

ABSTRACT: Pups are a highly rewarding stimulus for early postpartum rats. Our previous work supports this notion by showing that suckling activates the mesocorticolimbic system in mothers. In the present study, we tested whether development of behavioral sensitization to cocaine before pregnancy affects the neural response to pups during the early postpartum days (PD). Virgin rats were repeatedly administered cocaine for 14 days (15 mg kg(-1)) and withdrawn from treatment during breeding and pregnancy. The neural response to suckling was measured at PD 4-8 using blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) MRI or microdialysis. Our results show that BOLD activation in the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), septum and auditory cortex was curtailed in cocaine-sensitized dams. No differences between cocaine sensit

SUBMITTER: Febo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2220157 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature