Food restriction in adolescence increases emotional disorder-like behaviors in adult rats.

This study was designed to investigate the neuronal mechanism underlying the influence of early-life food restriction on the central nervous system and subsequent behaviors in adult rats. Several behavioral paradigms were tested in rats, including sucrose negative contrast test, forced swimming test (FST) and elevated plus maze test (EPM). in vivo intracellular electrophysiological recordings were conducted in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LAT). Finally, the levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY) were examined using immunohistochemistry. Food restriction during adolescence reduced sucrose preference in adult rats. Adolescent food restriction increased total immobile time in the FST and reduced the latency in rats to the first bout of immobility. In the EPM test, rats that experienced food restriction in adolescence and tested four weeks later spent less time than unrestricted controls in the open arm. In addition, chronic food restriction in adolescence increased in vivo LAT neuronal excitability in adulthood. Finally, NPY immunoreactivity in the LAT was reduced in rats that experienced chronic food restriction in adolescence compared to controls. Our results suggest that food restriction in adolescence increases emotional disorder-like behaviors in adult life, in which NPY production regulates the LAT-dependent behaviors and may underly the vulnerability to emotional disorders.