FIGURE 1.

Suckling under large litter size and pilocarpine administration reduced body weight of male rats. Animals were previously suckled in litters with 9 and 15 pups (respectively, L₉ and L₁₅ condition). Naïve (Nv), no treatment; Vehicle (V), scopolamine methyl nitrate 1 mg/kg/day dissolved in 0.9% saline + 0.9% saline; Pilocarpine (P), scopolamine methyl nitrate 1 mg/kg/day + 45 mg/kg/day of pilocarpine; both dissolved in 0.9% saline. Note that since pilocarpine or vehicle intraperitoneal administration occurred from postnatal day 35–55, a differentiation between the three groups at day 7 and 21 can be done only by the assignment to the groups, but not by treatment. Data are mean ± standard deviation. ^∗p < 0.001 compared with the corresponding L₉ condition. #p < 0.001 compared with control groups in the same lactation condition (ANOVA plus Holm-Sidak test).