Fetal alcohol syndrome and mental retardation: spine distribution of pyramidal cells in prenatal alcohol-exposed rat cerebral cortex; a Golgi study.
Among the various possible effects of the fetal alcohol-syndrome (FAS), mental retardation can be considered the most deleterious. In animal studies, prenatal alcohol exposure has been shown to result in increased neonatal mortality, retarded cerebellar development and a significant decrease in neonatal brain weight. In a Golgi study on Wistar rats that were prenatally exposed to alcohol the spine distribution in proximal apical dendrites of layer V pyramidal cells of the parietal cortex was examined. As compared with controls, a distinct spine abnormality could be demonstrated at 12 days and at 40 days of postnatal age: a persistent predominance of long, thin and entangled spines, and a decreased number of normal stubby and mushroom-shaped spines. These abnormal dendritic patterns show a striking resemblance to those described by Purpura in mentally retarded children of normal karyotype.
D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D003712:Dendrites / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D006056:Golgi Apparatus / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013194:Staining and Labeling