ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the potential mechanism of abnormal behavior resulted from maternal separation in neo-natal period in rat. Methods Neonatal rats were equally and randomly divided into maternal separation group and control group. The rats in maternal separation group were separated from the dam for 3h per day on postnatal days (PND) 2 to 21, nothing was done to the rats in the control group. The brain tissues were taken out after being killed on PND 7, 14, and 21. The expressions of Caveolin-l, BDNF and GFAP in hippocampal formation were detected by immunohistochemistry. Semiquantitative assessment of immunohistochemical images was performed by Image-Pro Plus software. Results Compared with control groups, the expres-sion of Caveolin-l on PND 7 had no signiifcant change, while BDNF and GFAP were signiifcantly increased in maternal separa-tion group (P<0.05). On PND 14 and 21, the expressions of Caveolin-l, BDNF and GFAP were signiifcantly decreased in maternal separation group (P<0.05). Conclusions Decreased expressions of Caveolin-l, BDNF and GFAP caused by maternal separation in neonatal period may be associated with abnormal behaviors in adulthood in rat.