Children are the foundation of our shared future, yet millions are burdened by Early Life Stress (ELS), undermining their mental health and potential. The 2024 World Children’s Day theme, "Listen to the Future, Stand Up for Children's Rights," underscores the urgent need to address these challenges. This communication explores how adverse childhood experiences disrupt mental health through anatomical, physiological, and emotional pathways, emphasizing the critical importance of listening to children's voices. It advocates for trauma-informed policies, equitable care, and community-driven initiatives to uphold children’s rights and ensure they thrive as future contributors to society...
The mother-infant bond plays a pivotal role in early neurodevelopment, and disruptions to this relationship can lead to significant behavioral and neurochemical alterations. This study explores the impact of maternal separation on cognitive and exploratory behaviors, redox status, and neuroanatomy in the prefrontal cortex of juvenile rats. Female rats were bred and assigned to either a control or maternal separation (MS) group, with maternal separation pups experiencing a 24-hour separation from their mothers on postnatal day nine. Behavioral assessments using the open field test revealed marked reductions in total line crossings and rearing frequency in the MS group, indicating deficits in cognitive and exploratory behavior. Biochemical assays showed significant increase in oxidative stress markers, including malondialdehyde, and reduction in antioxidant enzyme activity, namely superoxide dismutase and catalase, in the prefrontal cortex of MS rats. Histological observation further revealed signs of cellular degeneration, including poorly stained nuclei and increased chromatolytic cells, in MS rats compared to control. Additionally, increased astrocyte reactivity, as evidenced by hypertrophied astrocytes and higher astrocyte counts, was observed in the prefrontal cortex of MS rats. These findings suggest maternal separation induces oxidative stress and cellular degeneration in the prefrontal cortex, potentially underlying behavioral deficits observed in MS rats. This model provides insights into the neurobiological mechanisms by which early-life adversity impacts neurodevelopment, with potential implications for understanding the development of neuropsychiatric disorders in humans exposed to early-life stress....
Abstracts of Research Papers Presented at the 20th Annual Scientific Conference and General Meeting of the Anatomical Society of Nigeria (7-9 October 2024) held at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
Abstracts of Research Papers Presented at the 19th Annual Scientific Conference and General Meeting of the Anatomical Society of Nigeria held at Baze University Abuja on 6 – 9 September 2023