Efeitos da exposição e retirada da sacarose sobre comportamentos relacionados à ansiedade em ratos adolescentes

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical period for the development of the central nervous system (CNS) and neuronal plasticity processes may be sensitive to environmental challenges. Evidence shows that exposure to sucrose affects brain development in rats, even promoting behavioral changes. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that sucrose exposure and withdrawal alter anxiety-related behaviors in adolescent rats. Thirty-days-old Wistar rats obtained from the Animal Facility of the Biosciences Center – UFRN received water and feed ad libitum throughout the experimental period. Animals divided in the following groups were submitted to the elevated plus maze test (EPM) for 5 minutes, individually: control group (animals that received water as a source of liquid throughout the experiment), sucrose group (animals that received sucrose 5% as an additional source of liq, withdrawal group (animals that received sucrose 5% as an additional source of liquid for 16 days, with sucrose replaced by water 48 hours prior to the EPM test) and the long-term withdrawal group (animals that received sucrose 5% as an additional source of liquid for 16 days, with sucrose replaced by water 21 days prior to testing in the EPM). Twenty-four hours after the test in the EPM, the animals of all experimental groups were submitted to the open field test. The results showed that the exposure as well as the removal of sucrose in adolescent rats did not alter anxiety-related behaviors in the EPM and in the open field tests. Suggesting that consumption and withdrawal in 16 intermittent days in young rats does not favor the behavioral expression of the anxious type when submitted to solid and scientifically supported behavioral tests, requiring further studies to understand the effect of sucrose in the diet.