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Effects of Early Life Neglect on Cocaine use during adolescence and subsequent effect on FGF-2 levels in adulthood

Patel, Vaidehi
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1588276506770239

Abstract Details

2020, BS, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Biological Sciences.
Early-life adversity (ELA) increases the risk for development of psychopathologies in adolescence and adulthood. Childhood neglect is a potent form of ELA and can be modeled through neonatal maternal separation. Maternal separation has been shown to alter cognition, learning and memory later in life. Here, we examined the contribution of maternal separation to the development of substance use disorder in adolescence, and whether changes in regional protein expression in the brain persist into adulthood. First, male and female rats exposed to maternal separation were compared to controls for changes in localized expression of the developmental growth factor, fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2), in several brain regions using immunohistochemistry. FGF2 is known to be upregulated by cocaine experience, is protective against fear over-expression and is a candidate biomarker for vulnerability and resilience to development of comorbid psychopathologies. Next, we examined whether maternal separation impacted sensitivity in adolescence to cocaine using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm, in which one of two chambers is associated with cocaine. Learning and memory impairment was observed in the maternally separated rats during the CPP tests in adolescence as they exhibited a delay in showing preference for the previously cocaine - associated chamber compared to the control group. Finally, we collected the brain tissues of animals following maternal separation to examine changes in baseline levels of FGF-2 expression. However, due to covid-19 University closure we were unable to complete immunohistochemistry but the tissues were collected and frozen to process it at a later date. Our results will determine whether FGF-2 is a potential risk or resilience factor for the development of psychopathologies and will pave the way for future studies examining comorbid addiction and fear disorders as well as for the development of potential drug addiction treatment. Additionally, the same study will be redone in the future to determine whether maternal separation alters regional FGF-2 expression in the brain during adulthood, and if cocaine experience in adolescence has an impact.
Devin Mueller, Ph.D (Advisor)
Alison Smith, Dean/Ph.D (Committee Member)
John Johnson, Ph.D (Committee Member)
Aaron Jasnow, Ph.D (Committee Member)
35 p.
Biology; Biomedical Research; Neurobiology; Neurosciences; Psychobiology; Psychology
FGF-2; maternal separation; cocaine; conditioned place preference; neonatal maternal separation; learning and memory; spatial memory; psychopathologies; depression; stress; anxiety; neurocognition; amygdala; hippocampus; medial prefrontal cortex; long evans

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Patel, V. (2020). Effects of Early Life Neglect on Cocaine use during adolescence and subsequent effect on FGF-2 levels in adulthood [Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1588276506770239

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Patel, Vaidehi. Effects of Early Life Neglect on Cocaine use during adolescence and subsequent effect on FGF-2 levels in adulthood. 2020. Kent State University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1588276506770239.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Patel, Vaidehi. "Effects of Early Life Neglect on Cocaine use during adolescence and subsequent effect on FGF-2 levels in adulthood." Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1588276506770239

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ksuhonors1588276506770239
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University Honors College and OhioLINK.