Effects of change of maternal environment during early postnatal development on behaviour in cataleptic rats

Pinch-induced catalepsy was compared at an age of 2 weeks and at weaning in cataleptic GC and control Wistar rats reared by their biological mothers o r subjected to reciprocal in-or cross-fostering. Besides, some open-field p arameters were studied in the same groups of rats at an age of 2 months. Si gnificant interstrain differences in all the behavioural parameters studied were found. Reciprocal cross-fostering tended to diminish interstrain diff erences in most parameters. It brought about a decrease of duration of pinc h-induced catalepsy at 2 weeks and at weaning in GC rats, and an increase o f duration of catalepsy at weaning in Wistar females. Besides, cross-foster ing decreased the duration of freezing in the open-field test in GC rats at 2 months. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.