Periodic maternal deprivation may modulate offspring anxiety-like behavior through mechanisms involving neuroplasticity in the amygdala.

Maternal care has been shown to affect the development of behavioral and endocrine systems. In rats, periodic maternal deprivation (PMD) serves as an early life stressor that directly influences maternal care by promoting more pup-directed behaviors in stressed dams. To further assess the qualities of PMD that may ameliorate long-term anxiety effects in trait anxiety animals, we coded behaviors across lactation (postnatal day (PND) 5, 16, 21) in dams phenotyped as high (HAn) and low-anxiety (LAn).