Maternal Separation And Gene Expression In Monkeys

Michael J. Sabatini, Philip Ebert, David A. Lewis, Pat Levitt, Judy L. Cameron, and K'roly Mirnics


Even most dads will admit there's nothing quite like mom when you are young. In this week's Journal, Sabatini et al. investigated the neural substrate of behaviors caused by maternal separation of monkeys at either 1 week or 1 month of age. Using DNA microarrays, the authors identified a single gene that was differentially regulated in 1 week and 1 month separation animals: the nitric oxide signaling molecule GUCY1A3, an analog of rat guanylate cyclase 1 - 1. In maternally reared control monkeys, in situ hybridization showed that GUCY1A3 was expressed at highest levels in the amygdala, and was expressed maximally by 1 week of age. Expression was significantly lower in 1 week maternally separated animals and was intermediate in 1 month separated monkeys. GUCY1A3 expression correlated with acute and long-term self- and social-comforting behaviors. Whether GUCY1A3 is simply a marker of this behavior or plays a causal role remains to be determined.







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