CAFFEINE CONSUMPTION DURING LACTATION LEADS TO AN IMBALANCE BETWEEN EXCITATORY/INHIBITORY ACTIVITY AND ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR IN MALE BUT NOT IN FEMALE OFFSPRING

Nowadays, it is known that the brain is not completely formed after birth and that its maturation depends on the remodeling of connections in the face of different environmental stimuli. Several studies indicate that a balance between excitatory and inhibitory activity is essential to the correct development of the sensory, motor and cognitive systems and that commitments in this balance can result in behavioral changes. Based on this, caffeine is important since it is one of the most consumed psychoactive drugs in Brazil and in the whole world. Different studies evaluate the impact of caffeine ingestion on the neural circuits by modulating the release of neurotransmitters, such as glutamate and GABA. However, little is known about the effects of chronic ingestion of caffeine by lactating mothers on the development of the pups.