Figure 3 The effect of maternal separation (MS), cholinergic antagonists and probiotics on the secretory response to electrical field stimulation (EFS). (A) The change in short‐circuit curent (ΔIsc) to EFS was determined, then the cholinergic antagonist, atropine (ATR at 10⁻⁵ M), or hexamethonium (HEX at 10⁻⁵ M), or both, were added and 15 min later a second EFS was administered. Each treatment significantly reduced the ΔIsc to EFS in tissues of both MS and non‐separation (NS) rats compared with vehicle. Results are expressed as the percentage (%) change in the presence of the agonist compared with the initial response for each tissue. (B) Absolute values are shown for the ΔIsc to EFS in NS and MS vehicle‐treated and probiotic‐treated rat pups. MS caused a significant increase in EFS response compared with NS controls, which was attenuated by probiotic treatment. No effect of probiotics was observed in NS controls. Values indicate means (SE) (n = 7–11 rats/group), *p<0.05 compared with vehicle‐treated NS control rat pups; #p<0.05 compared with vehicle‐treated MS rat pups.