Neuroendocrine responses in neonatal mother-deprived rabbits.

To study both short- and long-term adaptation mechanisms activated by rabbits which were separated from their mothers (DLS) for 48 h between postnatal days 9 and 11, we examined plasma corticosterone concentrations before, during, and after DLS as well as the expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in the hippocampus and the adrenal axis responses to a mild stress stimuli or exogenous ACTH injection. At postnatal day 10, plasma corticosterone concentration of DLS rabbits was similar to that of controls, but rose two-fold at day 11 (17.7 + or - 1.3 vs. 9.3 + or - 1.2 microg/dl, P0.01) and then decreased at day 12, when suckling was allowed again, to match those of controls with no differe…