Unit:
Κατεύθυνση ΝευροεπιστήμεςLibrary of the School of Science
Author:
Prosilis Antonios
Supervisors info:
Αντώνης Σταματάκης, Αναπληρωτής καθηγητής, Τμήμα Νοσηλευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Ευθυμία Κιτράκη, , Τμήμα Οδοντιατρικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Φωτεινή Στυλιανοπούλου,
Original Title:
Effects of dopaminergic antagonists administration during the early postnatal period on rat behavior and brain neurochemistry
Translated title:
Effects of dopaminergic antagonists administration during the early postnatal period on rat behavior and brain neurochemistry
Summary:
Dopamine is a known neurotransmitter in the adult brain of mammals but is also present in areas of the developing brain, where it regulates neuronal proliferation, morphology and migration through its different receptors. However, there are still areas of the brain where we do not know how dopamine affects their development, like the prefrontal cortex (PFC). We used two models of reduced dopaminergic activity in the prefrontal cortex during the early life –a. Denial of Expected reward through maternal contact (DER) and b. intracerebral administration of the D1-antagonist SCH23390- and ran a series of behavioural and immunohistochemical assays to determine the function and structure of the PFC in adult animals. Behaviour wise, the two experimental groups, DER and SCH, displayed defects in reversal learning but none in the prepulse inhibition protocol compared to controls. Nevertheless, DER rats had reduced maximum response of their acoustic startle response and along with the SCH animals showed an increased startle latency. Moreover, both DER and SCH rats had reduced number of PFC neurons as well as reduced number of glutamatergic cells. Our work demonstrates a role for dopamine as a morphogen in the brain and more specifically in the PFC, where its reduced levels during development affect the behaviour and neurochemistry of the adult brain.
Main subject category:
Science
Keywords:
Dopamine, Prefrontal cortex, Neonatal experience, D1-like receptor antagonists, Prepulse Inhibition
