title: Prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and basolateral amygdala plasticity in a rat model of autism spectrum.
abstract: We aimed to investigate the effect of prenatal administration of valproic acid (VPA) (500 mg/kg) at embryonic day 12.5 on the anatomical properties of the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and basolateral amygdala, at three different ages: immediately after weaning (postnatal day 21 [PD21]), prepubertal (PD35), and postpubertal (PD70) ages in a rat model of autistic spectrum disorder. Quantitative analysis of the thickness of the prefrontal cortex revealed a reduced size at all study ages in the cingulate 1 area of the prefrontal cortex and CA1 of the dorsal hippocampus in prenatally exposed animals compared to controls. At the level of the basolateral amygdala, a reduction in the size was observed at PD35 and PD70 in the VPA group. In addition, a reduced thickness was observed in the prelimbic region of the prefrontal cortex in VPA animals at PD35. Interestingly, no differences in cortical thickness were observed between control and VPA animals in the infralimbic region of the prefrontal at any age. Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to VPA differentially alters cortical limbic regions anatomical parameters, with implication in the autistic spectrum disorder.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, México.
authors.forename: Nuvia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sosa-Díaz
authors.forename: Maria Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bringas
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Atzori
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Flores
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D066272:Basolateral Nuclear Complex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014635:Valproic Acid
chemical_list: D014635:Valproic Acid
keywords: amygdala; autism; cortical thickness; hippocampus; prefrontal cortex; valproic acid