Inhibition of self-grooming induced by sleep restriction in dam rats.

Background & Objectives: Sleep restriction is a common feature of modern lifestyle and its effects can be extended to pregnancy. Several neurobehavioural consequences of sleep restriction during pregnancy have been reported, among which stand out perinatal depression and maternal fatigue, however, its effects over mother-infant relationship warrant further investigation. Thus, this study was aimed to evaluate the effects of sleep restriction during pregnancy over maternal behaviour and maternal aggression through animal models.

Methods: Eighteen 90-day-old female Wistar rats were distributed in two groups: (i) Control - not submitted to any manipulation during pregnancy, and (ii) Sleep restriction - submitted to sleep restriction during the entire pregnancy (21 days) through the multiple platforms technique. In the postpartum day 5, resident-intruder paradigm and the latencies test were performed to assess both maternal behaviour and maternal aggression.

Results: The sleep-restricted females displayed grooming in less frequency and duration, and with higher latency when compared to normal animals, while maternal aggression and maternal behaviour parameters remained equivalent between groups.

Interpretation & Conclusions: Considering the maintenance of maternal behavioural parameters, the inhibition of grooming seems to exert an adaptive mechanism, enabling sleep-restricted rats to display maternal behaviour properly.