Long-term postpartum anxiety and depression-like behavior in mother rats subjected to maternal separation are ameliorated by palatable high fat diet

While the effects of maternal separation on pups are well studied, the impact on dams has attracted little attention. The consumption of palatable food is known to dampen stress responses in animals, and emotions influence food choice in humans. Here we examined the early- and long-term impacts of maternal separation on behavioral profile of the dams, and the effects of palatable cafeteria high-fat diet (HFD). After littering, Sprague–Dawley female rats were subjected to prolonged separation, S180 (180 min) or brief separation, S15 (15 min/day) from postnatal days (PND) 2–14. At 4 weeks postpartum, half the dams were assigned to HFD. Anxiety and depression-like behaviors were assessed pre- and post-diet. Compared to S15 dams, S180 dams consuming chow demonstrated increased anxiety and depression-like behaviors assessed by elevated plus maze (EPM) and forced swim (FST) tests, respectively. These behavioral deficits were observed at 4 weeks, and persisted until 17 weeks postpartum. The S180 dams also had increased plasma corticosterone concentration compared to S15 dams, which coincided with increased hypothalamic CRH mRNA and reduced hippocampal GR mRNA expression, suggesting possible dysregulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Interestingly, continuous provision of HFD improved the behavioral deficits observed in S180 dams with significant reduction of hypothalamic CRH mRNA expression. These data are the first to describe long-term detrimental behavioral impacts of separation in dams, suggesting this may provide a model of postpartum depression. Moreover, they support the notion of long-term beneficial effects of ‘comfort food’ on stress responses.