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Developmental effects of early immune stress on aggressive, socially reactive, and inhibitedbehaviors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2001

DOUGLAS A. GRANGER
Affiliation:
The Pennsylvania State University
KATHRYN E. HOOD
Affiliation:
The Pennsylvania State University
NANCY A. DRESCHEL
Affiliation:
The Pennsylvania State University
ERIC SERGEANT
Affiliation:
The Pennsylvania State University
ANDREA LIKOS
Affiliation:
The Pennsylvania State University

Abstract

The origins of individual differences in social development are examined in relation to earlystress (immune challenge) and social milieu (maternal behavior) in a genetic–developmentalanalysis using an animal model. Neonatal male mice (5 or 6 days of age) from two lines of miceselectively bred for high versus low levels of inter-male aggressive behavior received a standardimmune challenge (i.p. injections of 0.05 mg/kg endotoxin or saline). Animals were reared bytheir line-specific biological dam or by a foster dam from a line bred without selection. Adultlevels of social behaviors were assessed in a dyadic test (age 45–50 days). Mice from thehigh-aggressive line show more developmental sensitivity to immune challenge than mice from thelow-aggressive line, and line differences persist regardless of the early maternal environment. Asadults, endotoxin-treated mice from the high-aggressive line have lower levels of aggressivebehavior, longer latency to attack, and higher rates of socially reactive and inhibited behaviorscompared to saline controls. Developmental effects of endotoxin in the low-aggressive line areminimal: endotoxin increases socially reactive behaviors, compared to saline controls, but only formice reared by their biological dams. Rearing by foster dams increases social exploration in thelow-aggressive line. The findings raise novel questions regarding the openness of behavioralsystems to effects of nonobvious but omnipresent features of the environment, such as antigenicload, how these effects are integrated to affect social development and psychopathology, and thenature of intrinsic factors that contribute to individual differences in sensitivity to early stressors.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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