Degree of neuronal activation following FG-7142 changes across regions during development

We report that FG-7142 (20 mg/kg) differentially increased c-fos in the pre frontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and striatum of rats 10, 18, 45, and 100 days of age. FG-7142 selectively activated the cortex in adults (70.7 +/- 3.0%), but the pattern was stronger in nucleus accumbens (83.3 +/- 9.8%) in younger subjects. These results are consistent with the delayed maturation of the cortex, and show that stress produces more diffuse effects early in life. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.