Behavioral, functional and morphological analysis of the effects of noxious stimulation during the neonatal period in wistar rats of different genders and ages

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyze the behavioral, functional and morphological aspects of the effects of nociceptive stimulation during the neonatal period in rats of different ages and genders. Were used used 96 animals, separated into 16 groups consisting of 6 males and 6 females with 15, 30, 90 and 180 days old, 8 groups were subjected to noxious stimuli immediately after birth for 15 days and the remaining 8 groups received tactile stimuli (controls). The day before the sacrifice, the animals were exposed to elevated plus maze for subsequent behavioral analysis, were also performed the paw pressure tests and assessment of tactile sensitivity to nociceptive, were also performed tests of strength and performance gait. The animals were then weighed, anesthetized and perfused for subsequent removal of brains. The analysis of the brains were performed with the markers GFAP, MCP-1 and OX-42 in the following areas: anterior cingulate, prefrontal, anterior insula, primary and secondary Somatosensory area, Primary and Secondary Motor Area. The analysis were performed with the aid of the computer program Image J. Statistical analysis of the data consisted in comparing the data obtained between males and females (Student's t test for unpaired data with normal distribution) and between different ages in the same gender (One way ANOVA followed by a Tukey post-test for data with normal distribution). (AU)