Aberrant development of intrinsic brain activity in a rat model of caregiver maltreatment of offspring

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2017

Abstract

Caregiver maltreatment induces vulnerability to later-life psychopathology. Clinical and preclinical evidence suggest changes in prefrontal and limbic circuitry underlie this susceptibility. We examined this question using a rat model of maternal maltreatment and methods translated from humans, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI). Rat pups were reared by mothers provided with insufficient or abundant bedding for nest building from postnatal (PN) days 8 to 12 and underwent behavioral assessments of affect-related behaviors (forced swim, sucrose preference and social interaction) in adolescence (PN45) and early adulthood (PN60). R-fMRI sessions were conducted under light anesthesia at both ages. Offspring reared with insufficient bedding (that is, maltreated) displayed enduring negative affective behaviors. Amygdala-prefrontal cortex (PFC) functional connectivity increased significantly from adolescence to adulthood in controls, but not in maltreated animals. We computed the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), an index of intrinsic brain activity, and found that fALFF in medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex (MPFC/ACC) increased significantly with age in controls but remained unchanged in maltreated animals during adolescence and adulthood. We used a seed-based analysis to explore changes in functional connectivity between this region and the whole brain. Compared with controls, maltreated animals demonstrated reduced functional connectivity between MPFC/ACC and left caudate/putamen across both ages. Functional connectivity between MPFC/ACC and right caudate/putamen showed a group by age interaction: Decreased in controls but increased in maltreated animals. These data suggest that maltreatment induces vulnerability to psychopathology and is associated with differential developmental trajectories of prefrontal and subcortical circuits underlying affect regulation.

Identifier

85018439643 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Translational Psychiatry

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2016.276

e-ISSN

21583188

PubMed ID

28094810

Issue

1

Volume

7

Grant

1S10RR023534

Fund Ref

National Institutes of Health

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