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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Aug 1.
Published in final edited form as: Horm Behav. 2020 May 25;124:104763. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104763

Figure 1-. Experimental Design.

Figure 1-

At birth, litters were assigned to one of three treatment groups. Control reared litters were maintained in standard housing conditions with adequate bedding and 4x4 cm cotton nestlet (A). Limited bedding reared pups and dam were placed in a cage with a wire mesh floor, no bedding, and a 3x4 cm cotton nestlet from PD4-PD11 (B). Maternal separation reared pups and dam were housed in a standard home cage with bedding and 4x4 cotton nestlet. From PD4-PD11, maternal separation pups were removed daily from their home cage for 3 hours a day into cups placed in a water bath maintained at 35-37°C (C). A variety of early developmental outcomes were measured (D). Weight gain was measured from PD4-PD75. Righting reflex was tracked daily from PD6-PD9 to assess the trajectory of motor milestone development. Eye opening was tracked daily from PD12-PD19 to assess the trajectory of visual development. Brain tissue and blood were collected at PD8, PD12, PD16, PD21 and PD28 to assess effects of ELA on the timing of motor cortex maturation and on the trajectory of basal corticosterone levels. Finally, anxiety-like behaviors were assessed via light-dark box task at PD22, PD35, PD75.