title: Neonatal brain dopamine depletion and the cortical and behavioral consequences of enriched postweaning environment.
abstract: This study investigated the effects of neonatal intraventricular administration of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA, 15 micrograms total with and without desmethylimipramine pretreatment) on the cortical thickening and behavioral effects of 35 days of enriched postweaning housing (ENR) in the rat. The 6-OHDA treatment depleted cortical dopamine (DA) to about 40% of control. It did not affect the thickness of the cerebral cortex nor did it affect the capacity for the cortex to be thickened by ENR. In addition, it did not alter the superior performance on two spatial water maze tasks that was caused by ENR. Thus, the potential for neurobehavioral plasticity was not changed by neonatal DA depletion. ENR eliminated the spatial learning/memory deficits that were caused by neonatal DA depletion and that were manifested when the rat was raised in standard (impoverished) laboratory conditions. Hence, environmental factors can modulate the cognitive effects of neonatal DA depletion. ENR did not attenuate the hyperactivity of the neonatal DA-depleted rat. This may reflect the subcortical mediation of this behavioral abnormality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Pappas
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Murtha
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Condon
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Szirtes
authors.forename: S I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Laventure
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ally
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000254:growth & development*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D003891:Desipramine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D004777:Environment; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D016627:Oxidopamine; D051381:Rats; D013563:Sympathectomy, Chemical
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D016627:Oxidopamine; D003891:Desipramine; D004298:Dopamine