Influence of Postweaning Social Isolation in the Rat on Brain Development, Conditioned Behavior, and Neurotransmission
Abstract
There is substantial evidence that early life events influence brain development and subsequent adult behavior and play an important role in the causation of certain psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and depression. The underlying mechanism of the effects of these early environmental factors is still not understood. It is a challenge to attempt to model early environmental factors in animals to gain understanding of the basic mechanisms that underlie the long-term effects. This paper reviews the effects of rearing rats from weaning in social isolation and reports some recent results indicating hippocampal dysfunction. Isolation rearing in rats from weaning produces a range of persistent behavioral changes in the young adult, including hyperactivity in response to novelty and amphetamine and altered responses to conditioning. These are associated with alterations in the central aminergic neurotransmitter functions in the mesolimbic areas and other brain regions. Isolation-reared rats have enhanced presynaptic dopamine (DA) and 5-HT function in the nucleus accumbens (NAC) associated with decreased presynaptic 5-HT function in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Isolation-reared rats have reduced presynaptic noradrenergic function in the hippocampus, but have enhanced presynaptic DA function in the amygdala. These neurochemical imbalances may contribute to the exaggerated response of the isolated rat to a novel stimulus or to stimuli predictive of danger, and isolation-induced behavioral changes. These changes have neuroanatomical correlates, changes which seem to parallel to a certain degree those seen in human schizophrenia. A greater understanding of the processes that underlie these changes should improve our knowledge of how environmental events may alter brain development and function, and play a role in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Neurodevelopmental models of schizophrenia in animals typically involve exposure of the neonate during gestation or the perinatal period to adverse environmental insults such as maternal stress, hypoxia, malnutrition, or post-weaning social isolation that alter brain development and cause behavioral deficits into adulthood.
“Neurodevelopmental models of schizophrenia in animals typically involve exposure of the neonate, either during gestation or the perinatal period, to adverse environmental insults such as maternal stress, hypoxia, malnutrition, or post-weaning social isolation that alter the brain development and cause behavioral deficits into adulthood [100–102].”
From Prenatal nicotine exposure during pregnancy results in adverse neurodevelopmental alterations and neurobehavioral deficits (2023) · cites this paper as [101]
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- Authors
- Lapiz, M. D. S., Fulford, A., Muchimapura, S., Mason, R., Parker, T., & Marsden, C. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Nottingham (GB)
- University of the West of England (GB)
- Venue
- Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology
- Published
- 2003-01
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 13-29
- ISSN
- 0097-0549 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-899X
- OpenAlex
- W9766445
- Cited by
- 305
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 21
- FWCI
- 3.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Keywords
- isolation rearing, brain development, hippocampal dysfunction, amphetamine response, conditioned behavior, dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, frontal cortex, mesolimbic system, schizophrenia, depression, early life environment, neuropsychiatric disorders
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Behavior, Animal, Brain, Catecholamines, Conditioning, Psychological, Humans, Synaptic Transmission, Serotonin, Social Isolation, Stress, Psychological, Weaning, Rats
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