Abstract | BACKGROUND: Up to 1 in 5 infants in the United States are exposed to alcohol prenatally, resulting in neurodevelopmental deficits categorized as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders ( FASD). Choline supplementation ameliorates some deficits, suggesting that alcohol exposure (AE) perturbs cholinergic neurotransmission and development. Behavioral interventions, which upregulate cholinergic neurotransmission, rescue cognitive deficits in rodent models of FASD. METHODS: We investigated the impacts of two interventions (either wheel-running (WR) or "super intervention," WR plus exposure to a complex environment) on cholinergic neuronal morphology in the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM), the source of cortical cholinergic input, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) in a rodent model of FASD. One third of the total 47 male pups received intragastric intubation of ethanol in milk substitute during postnatal days (PD) 4-9. Another third served as sham-intubated procedural controls while the final third served as suckle controls. Rats from each group were exposed to either intervention during PD 30-72. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT+ ) and acetylcholinesterase staining were used to quantify cholinergic neuron number, soma volume, and axon number. RESULTS: Our data indicate a main effect of postnatal treatment on ChAT+ neuron number in NBM in adulthood. Post hoc analysis demonstrates that ChAT+ neuron number is reduced in AE compared to suckle control rodents (p < .01). CONCLUSIONS: We examined the cytoarchitectonics of cholinergic neurons in NBM and PFC in adulthood following early postnatal AE and two interventions. We show that AE reduces ChAT+ neuron number in NBM, and this is not mitigated by either intervention.
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Authors | Katrina A Milbocker, Anna Y Klintsova |
Journal | Birth defects research
(Birth Defects Res)
Vol. 113
Issue 3
Pg. 299-313
(02 01 2021)
ISSN: 2472-1727 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 33174398
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
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Copyright | © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC. |
Chemical References |
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Topics |
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Cholinergic Neurons
- Ethanol
(adverse effects)
- Female
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- Male
- Pregnancy
- Rats
- Rodentia
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