14 DAY TRIAL // In an experiment carried out in mice, the separation from their mothers and early weaning, caused hyperactivity and anxiety in the long run.
Arthur Simen and a team of researchers from Yale University School of Medicine, USA, carried out a study on their 'maternal separation with early weaning' model in a group of 80 male mice and concluded that it promotes long-lasting anxiety and hyperactivity.
The scientists described this new behavioral model and its development open access journal BMC Neuroscience, and they hope to use it to investigate the long-term effects of early childhood neglect in people.
During the MSEW model, mice underwent maternal separation for 4 hours a day on days 2-5 after birth, and 8 hours per day on days 6-16, before being weaned on day 17.
Over two months later, the mice that had received this treatment became anxious and hyperactive, compared to the control group.
Simen said that “childhood adversity, in the form of abuse and neglect, is prevalent throughout the world and poses a significant public health problem,” AlphaGalileo reports.
“Unfortunately, the underlying molecular mechanisms of the consequences of early life neglect remain largely unknown.
“To address this, we devised a method of maternal separation that combines several published protocols in order to increase the likelihood of observing a reliable behavioral effect while minimizing fatalities to the developing offspring”.
Childhood adversity is associated with increased risk for mood, anxiety, impulse control, and substance disorders, and maternal separation is a commonly used model of early life neglect.
Arthur Simen said that “MSEW is a novel paradigm with excellent face validity that allows for in depth examination of the behavioral and neurobiological effects of maternal separation”.
The results of this experiment suggest that this behavioral model can be used to understand the complex behavioral abnormalities often apparent in people that have a history of early life neglect.
It can also clear up later life outcomes and offer insights for new therapeutic strategies.