Administration of clozapine to a mother rat potentiates pup ultrasonic vocalization in response to separation and re-separation: Contrast with haloperidol

Authors

Ming Li, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Wei He, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Katherine Heupel, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Date of this Version

2011

Citation

Behavioural Brain Research 222 (2011), pp. 385–389; doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.03.062

Comments

Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. Used by permission.

Abstract

The present study examined how haloperidol (typical) and clozapine (atypical) treatment to mother rats affected their pups’ ultrasonic vocalization (USV) response to maternal separation and re-separation (termed “maternal potentiation”). Clozapine (10 mg/kg, sc) but not haloperidol (0.2 mg/kg, sc) significantly enhanced the maternal potentiation of 40 kHz USVs in pups that were briefly reunited with their dams. This novel paradigm provides an indirect way of assessing the impact of antipsychotic treatment on the quality of maternal care. It may also be useful in examining the impact of antipsychotic treatment on social bonding between infants and mothers.