Cannabinoid modulation of mother-infant interaction: is it just about milk?
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Antonia Manduca
Antonia Manduca is a PhD student in Biology Applied to Human Health at the Department of Biology, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy. Under the supervision of Dr. Viviana Trezza, she is involved in psychopharmacological research on the role of the endocannabinoid system in the modulation of emotions and cognition.
Dr. Patrizia Campolongo is Assistant Professor at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. The thrust of her research is to investigate the role of the endocannabinoid system in the control of cognition and emotions and to unveil the neural underpinnings of emotional memory processing. She has won several prestigious awards, among them the European Brain and Behavioral Society (EBBS) young investigator award and the “Sapienza Ricerca 2010” young investigator prize, for the six most promising scientists performing fore-front research within the whole University. She is a member of the US Society for Neuroscience (Sfn), the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS), the EBBS, the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS), the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) and the Italian Society of Pharmacology (SIF).
Dr. Viviana Trezza is Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology of Roma Tre University. Her research focuses on the following topics: 1. the role of endocannabinoid neurotransmission in animal models of cognitive and emotional disorders; 2. neurobiology of social behavior in rats; 3. the developmental neurotoxicity of drugs of abuse and environmental chemicals. Dr. Trezza’s research activity is funded by the EU (Marie Curie Career Reintegration Grant, Seventh Framework Programme People), NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) and MIUR (Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research). Viviana Trezza is a member of the US Society for Neuroscience (SfN), the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS), the European Brain and Behavioral Society (EBBS), the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS), the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) and the Italian Society of Pharmacology (SIF).
Abstract
Mother-infant interactions are essential for proper neurobehavioral development of the offspring, and disruptions in those relationships may result in neuroendocrine, neurochemical and behavioral alterations at adulthood. The neural circuitries involved in mother-infant interactions have not been completely elucidated yet. The brain endocannabinoid system plays an essential role in prenatal and postnatal neurobehavioral development. Here, we will summarize and discuss the available findings about the role of endocannabinoids in three key aspects of mother-infant interactions in rodents: suckling, maternal behavior and separation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). The studies reviewed here show that endocannabinoids are not only involved in suckling initiation and, therefore, in the feeding and growth of the offspring, but also regulate the emotional reactivity of rodent pups, as measured by the rate of isolation-induced USVs. Conversely, less information is available about endocannabinoid modulation of maternal behavior, and therefore more research in this direction is warranted. Indeed, since Cannabis sativa preparations are widely used by young people, including pregnant and lactating women, it is important to understand whether developmental exposure to cannabinoids interferes with mother-infant bond formation, potentially leading to neurodevelopmental alterations and increased vulnerability to psychopathology later in life.
About the authors
Antonia Manduca is a PhD student in Biology Applied to Human Health at the Department of Biology, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy. Under the supervision of Dr. Viviana Trezza, she is involved in psychopharmacological research on the role of the endocannabinoid system in the modulation of emotions and cognition.
Dr. Patrizia Campolongo is Assistant Professor at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. The thrust of her research is to investigate the role of the endocannabinoid system in the control of cognition and emotions and to unveil the neural underpinnings of emotional memory processing. She has won several prestigious awards, among them the European Brain and Behavioral Society (EBBS) young investigator award and the “Sapienza Ricerca 2010” young investigator prize, for the six most promising scientists performing fore-front research within the whole University. She is a member of the US Society for Neuroscience (Sfn), the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS), the EBBS, the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS), the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) and the Italian Society of Pharmacology (SIF).
Dr. Viviana Trezza is Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology of Roma Tre University. Her research focuses on the following topics: 1. the role of endocannabinoid neurotransmission in animal models of cognitive and emotional disorders; 2. neurobiology of social behavior in rats; 3. the developmental neurotoxicity of drugs of abuse and environmental chemicals. Dr. Trezza’s research activity is funded by the EU (Marie Curie Career Reintegration Grant, Seventh Framework Programme People), NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) and MIUR (Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research). Viviana Trezza is a member of the US Society for Neuroscience (SfN), the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS), the European Brain and Behavioral Society (EBBS), the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS), the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) and the Italian Society of Pharmacology (SIF).
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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- Masthead
- Guest Editorial
- Special Issue: The emotional brain and its relation to psychopathology
- Emotional modulation of the synapse
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- PKMζ inhibition prevents the metaplastic change induced by conditioned taste aversion on insular cortex long-term potentiation in vivo
- Taste and odor recognition memory: the emotional flavor of life
- Intense emotional experiences and enhanced training prevent memory loss induced by post-training amnesic treatments administered to the striatum, amygdala, hippocampus or substantia nigra
- Prefrontal/accumbal catecholamine system processes emotionally driven attribution of motivational salience
- Spatial memory, plasticity and nucleus accumbens
- Serotonin and emotion, learning and memory
- Contribution of serotonin type 3 receptors in the successful extinction of cued or contextual fear conditioned responses: interactions with GABAergic signaling
- Bombesin receptor regulation of emotional memory
- Estrogen, cognitive functions and emotion: an overview on humans, non-human primates and rodents in reproductive years
- Molecular brake pad hypothesis: pulling off the brakes for emotional memory
- Emotional modulation of multiple memory systems: implications for the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder
- Modeling specific phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder in rodents: the challenge to convey both cognitive and emotional features
- Learning to cope with stress: psychobiological mechanisms of stress resilience
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- Glucocorticoid-endocannabinoid interaction in cardiac surgical patients: relationship to early cognitive dysfunction and late depression
- Differences between the aging process and the chronic cerebrovascular impairment of memory functioning: the emotional and cognitive interaction
- A role for the superior colliculus in the modulation of threat responsiveness in primates: toward the ontogenesis of the social brain
- Cannabinoid modulation of mother-infant interaction: is it just about milk?
- Maternal exposure to low levels of corticosterone during lactation increases social play behavior in rat adolescent offspring
- Compulsive drug use and its neural substrates
- The role of the basal ganglia in motivated behavior
- The role of setting for ketamine abuse: clinical and preclinical evidence
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Guest Editorial
- Special Issue: The emotional brain and its relation to psychopathology
- Emotional modulation of the synapse
- Interplay of amygdala and insular cortex during and after associative taste aversion memory formation
- PKMζ inhibition prevents the metaplastic change induced by conditioned taste aversion on insular cortex long-term potentiation in vivo
- Taste and odor recognition memory: the emotional flavor of life
- Intense emotional experiences and enhanced training prevent memory loss induced by post-training amnesic treatments administered to the striatum, amygdala, hippocampus or substantia nigra
- Prefrontal/accumbal catecholamine system processes emotionally driven attribution of motivational salience
- Spatial memory, plasticity and nucleus accumbens
- Serotonin and emotion, learning and memory
- Contribution of serotonin type 3 receptors in the successful extinction of cued or contextual fear conditioned responses: interactions with GABAergic signaling
- Bombesin receptor regulation of emotional memory
- Estrogen, cognitive functions and emotion: an overview on humans, non-human primates and rodents in reproductive years
- Molecular brake pad hypothesis: pulling off the brakes for emotional memory
- Emotional modulation of multiple memory systems: implications for the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder
- Modeling specific phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder in rodents: the challenge to convey both cognitive and emotional features
- Learning to cope with stress: psychobiological mechanisms of stress resilience
- Effects of parabolic flight and spaceflight on the endocannabinoid system in humans
- Glucocorticoid-endocannabinoid interaction in cardiac surgical patients: relationship to early cognitive dysfunction and late depression
- Differences between the aging process and the chronic cerebrovascular impairment of memory functioning: the emotional and cognitive interaction
- A role for the superior colliculus in the modulation of threat responsiveness in primates: toward the ontogenesis of the social brain
- Cannabinoid modulation of mother-infant interaction: is it just about milk?
- Maternal exposure to low levels of corticosterone during lactation increases social play behavior in rat adolescent offspring
- Compulsive drug use and its neural substrates
- The role of the basal ganglia in motivated behavior
- The role of setting for ketamine abuse: clinical and preclinical evidence
