EN
Maternal deprivation model was used for studying the infl uence of perinatal stress on the behavior of adult mice. Swiss mice pups were separated from their mothers for two hours daily from postnatal day 1 (P1) to P7. One group of pups has been treated with buspirone immediately before each period of maternal separation (P1–P7). At the age of 1–3 months mice were subjected to a battery of behavioral tests. Then they were sacrifi ced, their brains were removed and used for immunohistochemistry staining or immunoblotting (Western blot) with antibodies directed against glucocorticoid or mineralocorticoid receptors. We found that in the open fi eld test and the plus maze test the stressed mice showed greater anxiety than non-stressed animals. Anxiety in stressed mice treated with buspirone was lower than in stressed only mice. Next, mice were tested either in a water maze test or an object recognition test where their memory and learning performance was assessed. We did not fi nd any signifi cant differences between groups in these two tests. These results demonstrate that stressing early life events, like maternal separation, permanently disturb emotionality of the adult mice but do not affect their learning or memory functions. Deleterious effects of stress may be prevented by pharmacological treatment. Supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education grant No 3757/B/P01/2007/33.