P. Kehoe et al., Central allopregnanolone is increased in rat pups in response to repeated,short episodes of neonatal isolation, DEV BRAIN R, 124(1-2), 2000, pp. 133-136
This experiment investigated whether neonatal isolation stress alters centr
al concentrations of progestins. Whole brain progesterone (P). dihydroproge
sterone (DHP), and allopregnanolone (3 alpha, 50 alpha -THP) were measured
in pups that were isolated from the nest, dam, and siblings for 1 h on post
natal days (PND) 2-9 and were compared to control litters of pups that were
not isolated. isolated 2-day-old pups had significantly lower central P an
d higher P to DHP and 3 alpha, 5 alpha -THP metabolism ratios. On PND 9, pu
ps that had been repeatedly isolated (PND 2-8), had significantly lower who
le brain DHP and significantly greater whole brain 3 alpha, 5 alpha -THP co
mpared to controls. Thus, the biosocial stress of isolation in neonatal rat
s alters central pregnane steroids. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ
ts reserved.