Abstract
Extract: Rats whose mothers received hydroxyurea (HU, 1 or 2 g/kg) at 14 days of gestation had a 30% deficit in both brain and body weight at birth, when compared with controls. Number of brain cells at birth (mainly neurons) was reduced by 33–34%. A severe reduction in postnatal whole brain growth (31–33% in adulthood) was observed, but the cerebellum was relatively spared. In the Hebb-Williams maze text in adulthood HU animals made 28% more errors than controls over 12 problems. The differences were much more marked on certain problems and for HU animals with particularly small brains. In a T-maze spatial discrimination test in adulthood HU rats learned the initial response normally but, when required to reverse this response, showed a significant tendency to make more perseverative errors than controls.
Speculation: Rats exposed to an inhibitor of cell division at the beginning of the major period of brain neurogenesis showed deficits in learning ability in adulthood. The large number of mentally retarded human children whose handicap is without known etiology may have suffered a similar early loss of neurons, and if so, this preparation could provide a useful animal model.
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Adlard, B., Dobbing, J. Maze Learning by Adult Rats after Inhibition of Neuronal Multiplication in Utero. Pediatr Res 9, 139–142 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197503000-00006
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197503000-00006
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