Enhanced evoked responses after early adversity and repeated platform exposure: the neurobiology of vulnerability?

Background: There is a long-standing clinical awareness of the significance of adverse early experiences and subsequent stress in the evolution of psychiatric disorder.

Methods: We investigated the impact of a single episode of preweaning maternal separation on in vivo electrophysiologic responses in the hippocampus of the mature rat after repeated exposure to an open elevated platform.

Results: Only rats that had experienced both maternal separation followed by stressful platform exposure when mature had significantly increased granule cell response to perforant path stimulation, compared with control rats.