Persistent changes in central catecholaminergic system after recovery of perinatally undernourished rats
1979
Marichich, Erna S. | Molina, Victor A. | Orsingher, Otto A.
To test the effect of early undernutrition on brain noradrenaline (NA) content, dopamine content (DA) and tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH) activity, pregnant rats or pups were fed a control diet (24% casein) or a deprived diet (8% casein) to obtain control group (C-C), prenatal deprived (D-C), postnatal deprived (C-D), and pre and postnatal deprived (D-D) groups. From 50 days of age on, all groups were fed a balanced diet until 140 days of age. A significant reduction in corporal and brain weights was observed in C-D and D-D groups during deprivation and after nutritional recovery. The results suggest that perinatal undernutrition produces, even after a prolonged period of nutritional recovery, a permanent activation of the central catecholaminergic system in adulthood. This alteration of catecholamines may be responsible for behavioral abnormalities in adulthood, such as heightened emotionality, stereotyped behavior, or differences in learning ability.
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