Perinatal undernutrition alters hypothermic responses to different central agonists in recovered adult rats.
Adult rats submitted to a protein deprivation schedule at perinatal age and later rehabilitated with balanced laboratory chow were studied in order to evaluate the hypothermic effect induced by the following central agonists: apomorphine, naphazoline, clonidine, diazepam, 5-MeODMT and oxotremorine. Deprived animals showed an enhanced reactivity to the hypothermic effect of apomorphine, naphazoline and diazepam, while a reduced responsiveness to clonidine was observed. Hypothermic responses to oxotremorine and 5-MeODMT were similar between both groups. These results stressed the functional relevancy of neurochemical changes induced by early undernutrition that may persist into adult life after nutritional recovery.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects; D001835:Body Weight; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology*; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D011488:Protein Deficiency / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains