Examining the Impact of Neonatal Pain and Infection on Dopaminergic Function During Learning in Long Evans Rats
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2023
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Bi-College (Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges). Neuroscience Program
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en
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Open Access
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Abstract
Admission to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit may potentially result in early life trauma. The effects of early life stressors are associated with possible disruptions to the dopaminergic system, resulting in changes to adulthood aversion. Gomes and Barr (2020) simulated the NICU experience via pain and infection exposure on rodents; experimental groups were divided into exposure to pain, to infection, combined conditions, and a non-exposed control. Aversive behavior was measured in adulthood via Conditioned Place Aversion tasks, and brain samples were collected. In the current study, we stained for tyrosine hydroxylase to measure dopaminergic change in relation to early life trauma exposure. Due to their association with dopamine expression, the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra were targeted for immunohistochemical analysis. In the substantia nigra, there were no significant changes in tyrosine hydroxylase expression between groups; however, tissue damage limited analysis of the ventral tegmental area. These results suggest tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the substantia nigra has no impact on early life pain and infection and their association with a change in aversive behaviors during adulthood.