Maternal deprivation impairs social recognition by diminishing the number of adult-born granule cells in the dentate gyrus

Maternal separation and early weaning (MSEW) male mice show social recognition impairments linked to diminished adult-born granule cells in the dentate gyrus.

• Why it matters: Childhood neglect is associated with higher neuropsychiatric risk, and social recognition is often impaired in these disorders. This work tests whether a rodent model of maternal deprivation disrupts social recognition via adult neurogenesis.
• What they did: Adult social recognition was assessed in MSEW male and female mice, alongside quantification of adult-born granule cells and their CA2 axon density. CA2 sharp wave ripple responses to novel versus familiar mouse exposure were also measured, and enriched housing or chemogenetic activation of 4–6 week old abGCs was used for rescue.
• The result: MSEW males, but not females, had fewer adult-born granule cells and reduced CA2 sharp wave ripple rates, while enriched environment restored abGC numbers and improved social recognition. Chemogenetic activation of 4–6 week old abGCs partially restored CA2 ripple patterns and improved social recognition in MSEW mice.

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