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Behavioral Neurobiology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Behavioral Neurobiology

Amelioration Of Prenatal Alcohol Effects By Environmental Enrichment In A Mouse Model Of Fasd, Aniruddho Chokroborty-Hoque Aug 2017

Amelioration Of Prenatal Alcohol Effects By Environmental Enrichment In A Mouse Model Of Fasd, Aniruddho Chokroborty-Hoque

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy results in a spectrum of behavioural and cognitive deficits collectively known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Currently, little is know about if and how the external environment may modulate these deficits. I have used C57BL/6 mice to study this interaction between prenatal alcohol exposure and the postnatal environment. Alcohol exposure during synaptogenesis produces high levels of anxiety-like traits and decreased memory performance. Alcohol-exposed mice (and matched unexposed controls) were put in 'environmentally-enriched' conditions of voluntary exercise, physical activities and cognitive stimulation to ascertain the effects of a positive postnatal environment. The results show that …


Early Life Immune And Physical Stress Directly Influences Anxiety-Like Behaviour In Adolescent Rats: Examining Sex Differences, Jordan M. Ward Aug 2017

Early Life Immune And Physical Stress Directly Influences Anxiety-Like Behaviour In Adolescent Rats: Examining Sex Differences, Jordan M. Ward

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examined the effects of neonatal acute immune activation with the endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on postnatal days 3 and 5 on adolescent anxiety-like behaviour in rats before and after a stress period. Previous research has shown that adults rats exposed to LPS during the neonatal stage show anxiety-like behaviour following a period of stress. This thesis investigated this effect in adolescence. The present results showed significantly higher anxiety-like behaviour in saline controls, and a potential neuroprotective effect of low dose LPS (15 µg/kg) contrary to what was reported in adult rats. As well, a phase of stressful, aversive conditioning …