Effect of maternal separation (MS) on body weight, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system and anxiety behaviors.

<p><i>A</i>, Body weight change of rats in MS and animal facility rearing (AFR) groups (MS, n = 22; AFR, n = 17). <i>B</i>, Plasma corticosterone concentrations of MS (n = 8) and AFR (n = 6) rats between 1800 and 2040 h on the dexamethasone/corticotropin-releasing hormone (DEX/CRH) test. All rats were pretreated with DEX (30 µg/kg i.v.) at 1200 h and administered with CRH (50 ng/kg i.v.) at 1931 h. MS rats showed significant increases in plasma corticosterone levels (#<i>p</i><0.05 vs AFR rats, *<i>p</i><0.05, **<i>p</i><0.01 vs baseline). <i>C</i>, Open field test. Total distance and % time in center during the 30 min test were analyzed. <i>D</i>, Elevated plus maze test. Total distance and % number of open arm entries during the 5 min were analyzed. Error bars represent SEM.