V-036
Effects of Gestational Enriched Environment on Maternal Behavior and Neurobiological Substrates in Two Animal Models of Postpartum Depression and Anxiety
Oriana Micaela Casado1, Ana Paula Toselli1, Franco Rafael Mir1,2,3, María Angélica Rivarola1,4
  1. Cátedra de Fisiología Animal. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Córdoba, Argentina.
  2. Cátedra de Fisiología Animal. Departamento de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja. La Rioja, Argentina.
  3. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martin Ferreyra. INIMEC-CONICET-UNC. Córdoba, Argentina.
  4. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud. INICSA-CONICET-UNC. Córdoba, Argentina.
Presenting Author:
Oriana Micaela Casado
oriana.casado@mi.unc.edu.ar
Gestation and the postpartum period involve major behavioral, physiological and molecular changes in mothers. The peripartum stage is also a period of high vulnerability to mood disorders such as postpartum depression, which often co-occurs with anxiety. This study evaluated whether a gestational enriched environment (EE) could improve maternal behavior, reduce anxiety and modulate neuronal activity in involved brain areas, using two postpartum depression–anxiety models: maternal separation (MS) and intruder male exposure (IM). Female Wistar rats were housed in standard conditions (SC) or an EE during pregnancy. On postpartum day 1 (PD1) animals were assigned to control (NS), MS, or IM groups for both SC and EE. Maternal behavior was assessed through the pup retrieval test on PD3, anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze on PD22 and +ΔFosB cells were quantified in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and hippocampus. Preliminary findings suggest that gestational EE enhanced maternal behavior, evidenced by shorter latency to retrieve the first pup and higher percentage of recovered offspring, and reduced anxiety-like behaviors. In CA2, EE was associated with fewer +ΔFosB cells; while in CA1 interaction effects revealed fewer +ΔFosB cells in the EE+NS group. No significant differences were found in BLA, DG or CA3. These findings suggest that gestational EE enhances maternal care, reduces anxiety-like behaviors and differentially modulates neuronal activity in the hippocampus.