Unraveling the Influence of Litter Size, Maternal Care, Exercise, and Aging on Neurobehavioral Plasticity and Dentate Gyrus Microglia Dynamics in Male Rats.

This study explores the multifaceted influence of litter size, maternal care, exercise, and aging on rats' neurobehavioral plasticity and dentate gyrus microglia dynamics. Body weight evolution revealed a progressive increase until maturity, followed by a decline during aging, with larger litters exhibiting lower weights initially. Notably, exercised rats from smaller litters displayed higher body weights during the mature and aged stages.

Aging-dependent brain electrophysiological effects in rats after distinct lactation conditions, and treadmill exercise: a spreading depression analysis.

Aging-related neurophysiological alterations are a matter of growing concern in gerontology. Physical exercise has been therapeutically employed to ameliorate aging-associated deleterious neurological changes. The aging process, as well as the effects of treadmill exercise on brain excitability, can be influenced by nutritional demands during lactation.

Fluoxetine inhibits cortical spreading depression in weaned and adult rats suckled under favorable and unfavorable lactation conditions.

Wistar rats (n = 58) were injected subcutaneously during the lactation period with fluoxetine (5, 10, 20 or 40 mg/kg/day) and cortical spreading depression (SD) was recorded immediately after weaning (25-30 days of life). An additional group (10 mg/kg; n = 8) was SD-recorded at 60-70 days. As compared to the saline-injected (n = 24) or "ingenuous" (n = 16) controls, fluoxetine dose-dependently reduced (P < 0.