PMID- 24857721 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20150219 LR - 20230131 IS - 1873-507X (Electronic) IS - 0031-9384 (Linking) VI - 133 DP - 2014 Jun 22 TI - Exposure to dim light at night during early development increases adult anxiety-like responses. PG - 99-106 LID - S0031-9384(14)00289-3 [pii] LID - 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.05.012 [doi] AB - Early experiences produce effects that may persist throughout life. Therefore, to understand adult phenotype, it is important to investigate the role of early environmental stimuli in adult behavior and health. Artificial light at night (LAN) is an increasingly common phenomenon throughout the world. However, animals, including humans, evolved under dark night conditions. Many studies have revealed affective, immune, and metabolic alterations provoked by aberrant light exposure and subsequent circadian disruption. Pups are receptive to entraining cues from the mother and then light early during development, raising the possibility that the early life light environment may influence subsequent behavior. Thus, to investigate potential influences of early life exposure to LAN on adult phenotype, we exposed mice to dim (~5 lux; full spectrum white light) or dark (~0 lux) nights pre- and/or postnatally. After weaning at 3 weeks of age, all mice were maintained in dark nights until adulthood (9 weeks of age) when behavior was assessed. Mice exposed to dim light in early life increased anxiety-like behavior and fearful responses on the elevated plus maze and passive avoidance tests. These mice also displayed reduced growth rates, which ultimately normalized during adolescence. mRNA expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin previously linked to early life environment and adult phenotype, was not altered in the prefrontal cortex or hippocampus by early life LAN exposure. Serum corticosterone concentrations were similar between groups at weaning, suggesting that early life LAN does not elicit a long-term physiologic stress response. Dim light exposure did not influence behavior on the open field, novel object, sucrose anhedonia, or forced swim tests. Our data highlight the potential deleterious consequences of low levels of light during early life to development and subsequent behavior. Whether these changes are due to altered maternal behavior or persistent circadian abnormalities incurred by LAN remains to be determined. CI - Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FAU - Borniger, Jeremy C AU - Borniger JC AD - Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. Electronic address: Jeremy.Borniger@osumc.edu. FAU - McHenry, Zachary D AU - McHenry ZD AD - Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. FAU - Abi Salloum, Bachir A AU - Abi Salloum BA AD - Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. FAU - Nelson, Randy J AU - Nelson RJ AD - Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20140521 PL - United States TA - Physiol Behav JT - Physiology & behavior JID - 0151504 RN - 57-50-1 (Sucrose) SB - IM MH - Adaptation, Ocular MH - Age Factors MH - Animals MH - Animals, Newborn MH - Anxiety/*etiology MH - Avoidance Learning/physiology MH - Circadian Rhythm/*physiology MH - Disease Models, Animal MH - Exploratory Behavior/physiology MH - Female MH - Food Preferences/physiology MH - Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/physiology/radiation effects MH - Light/*adverse effects MH - Male MH - Maze Learning/physiology MH - Mice MH - Recognition, Psychology MH - Sucrose/administration & dosage MH - Swimming/psychology MH - Time Factors OTO - NOTNLM OT - Anxiety OT - Circadian OT - Development OT - Light at night OT - Postnatal OT - prenatal EDAT- 2014/05/27 06:00 MHDA- 2015/02/20 06:00 CRDT- 2014/05/27 06:00 PHST- 2014/03/06 00:00 [received] PHST- 2014/05/02 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2014/05/14 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2014/05/27 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2014/05/27 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2015/02/20 06:00 [medline] AID - S0031-9384(14)00289-3 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.05.012 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Physiol Behav. 2014 Jun 22;133:99-106. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.05.012. Epub 2014 May 21.