DEVELOPMENTAL IMPACT OF CESAREAN SECTION ON SUCROSE PREFERENCE AND REWARD BEHAVIOR
Date
2025-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Cesarean section (CS) rates are rapidly rising worldwide and have been associated with
increased risk for obesity. Emerging evidence suggests that CS may disrupt the development of
the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system, a key pathway involved in reward processing, motivated
behavior, and feeding behavior. In this study, we used prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) to
investigate how CS affects reward sensitivity to sucrose and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) levels in
the ventral tegmental area in early adulthood. Voles were born via CS or vaginal delivery (VD),
cross-fostered, and assessed using Sucrose Preference Testing (SPT), Conditioned Place
Preference (CPP), and TH immunohistochemistry. Hormone levels are lower in CS offspring
after birth, and we aimed to understand the role of hormones in development. SPT revealed that
CS offspring consumed significantly more sucrose (p = 0.019) than CS-Hormone Rescue (HR)
controls, suggesting that hormone signals play a role in reward processing. However, there were
no significant differences in conditioned reward learning in CPP, indicating intact associative
learning across groups. Preliminary results from ventral tegmental area analysis show
significantly lower TH-immunoreactivity in the ventral tegmental area of CS animals in
comparison to VD-SAL, suggesting altered dopaminergic function in reward regions.
Preliminary data from the CS-HR group displayed higher levels of TH-ir, suggesting that
CS-SAL animals have lower levels of TH-ir in the VTA. These findings elucidated that CS
delivery may lead to long-lasting changes in DA regulation, which may underlie the increased
risk for obesity observed in CS offspring.