PMID- 18471879
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20090518
LR  - 20191210
IS  - 0149-7634 (Print)
IS  - 0149-7634 (Linking)
VI  - 33
IP  - 4
DP  - 2009 Apr
TI  - The mouse communal nest: investigating the epigenetic influences of the early 
      social environment on brain and behavior development.
PG  - 551-9
LID - 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.03.011 [doi]
AB  - Among the epigenetic factors shaping brain and behavior during early postnatal 
      life, social experiences have a major impact. Early social experiences are mainly 
      of two kinds: mother-offspring and peer interaction. In rodents, the latter has 
      so far been rarely studied. The communal nest (CN) is an innovative experimental 
      strategy that favors an exhaustive investigation of the long-term effects not 
      only of mother-offspring but also of peer interaction. CN is a rearing condition 
      employed by up to 90% of mouse females in naturalistic settings and consists of a 
      single nest where two or more mothers keep their pups together and share 
      care-giving. Mice reared in a communal nest display relevant changes in brain 
      function and behavior, including high levels of neural plasticity markers, such 
      as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and elaborate adult social 
      competencies. Overall, CN appears as an experimental strategy different and 
      complementary to the ones currently used for studying how the early environment 
      determines developmental trajectories.
FAU - Branchi, Igor
AU  - Branchi I
AD  - Section of Behavioural Neurosciences, Department of Cell Biology, Istituto 
      Superiore di Sanita, Viale Regina Elena 299, I-00161 Roma, Italy. branchi@iss.it
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Review
DEP - 20080404
PL  - United States
TA  - Neurosci Biobehav Rev
JT  - Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews
JID - 7806090
RN  - 0 (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adaptation, Psychological
MH  - Animals
MH  - Animals, Newborn
MH  - *Brain/cytology/growth & development
MH  - Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/metabolism
MH  - Critical Period, Psychological
MH  - Emotions/physiology
MH  - Epigenesis, Genetic/*physiology
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Maternal Behavior/physiology
MH  - Mice/anatomy & histology/growth & development/psychology
MH  - *Nesting Behavior
MH  - Neuronal Plasticity/physiology
MH  - *Social Environment
RF  - 129
EDAT- 2008/05/13 09:00
MHDA- 2009/05/19 09:00
CRDT- 2008/05/13 09:00
PHST- 2007/11/20 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2008/03/07 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2008/03/19 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2008/05/13 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2009/05/19 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2008/05/13 09:00 [entrez]
AID - S0149-7634(08)00047-X [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.03.011 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2009 Apr;33(4):551-9. doi: 
      10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.03.011. Epub 2008 Apr 4.