Stephanie Moriceau, Donald A. Wilson, Seymour Levine, and Regina M. Sullivan investigated the impact of corticosterone (CORT) on neonatal rats' ability to learn to recognize their mother through odors. Their study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, reveals that CORT plays a crucial role in the sensitive period before postnatal day 10 (P10). When rat pups received a shock paired with an odor at P8, they learned to prefer that odor. However, administering CORT 24 hours and 30 minutes before the pairing prematurely ended this sensitive period, leading to odor aversion learning and increased amygdala activation. On the other hand, removing CORT through adrenalectomy extended the sensitive period. P12 rats with adrenalectomy learned to prefer the odor associated with the shock rather than avoiding it and showed heightened activity in the olfactory bulb. The researchers suggest that CORT acts as a switch in the amygdala, promoting the development of olfactory fear conditioning.
Corticosterone's Role in Neonatal Odor Learning and Amygdala Activation
核心摘要：
The study by Moriceau et al. explores the critical role of corticosterone (CORT) in the early learning of neonatal rats to use odors for mother recognition. By examining the effects of CORT on odor-preference and odor-aversion learning, as well as amygdal