Neonatal maternal separation predisposes adult rats to colonic barrier dysfunction in response to mild stress

Intestinal dysfunction is related to stress and early life events, but the mechanisms are largely unknown. Our aim was to determine whether early trauma predisposes adult rats to intestinal mucosal dysfunction in response to stress. Neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats were individually separated from their mothers for 3 h/day at 4-21 days of age. Between days 80 and 90, separated and control rats were subjected to mild acute stress (30-min water …