title: The effects of amphetamine exposure on juvenile rats on the neuronal morphology of the limbic system at prepubertal, pubertal and postpubertal ages.
abstract: Amphetamines (AMPH) are psychostimulants widely used for therapy as well as for recreational purposes. Previous results of our group showed that AMPH exposure in pregnant rats induces physiological and behavioral changes in the offspring at prepubertal and postpubertal ages. In addition, several reports have shown that AMPH are capable of modifying the morphology of neurons in some regions of the limbic system. These modifications can cause some psychiatric conditions. However, it is still unclear if there are changes to behavioral and morphological levels when low doses of AMPH are administered at a juvenile age. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of AMPH administration (1mg/kg) in Sprague-Dawley rats (postnatal day, PD21-PD35) on locomotor activity in a novel environment and compare the neuronal morphology of limbic system areas at three different ages: prepubertal (PD 36), pubertal (PD50) and postpubertal (PD 62). We found that AMPH altered locomotor activity in the prepubertal group, but did not have an effect on the other two age groups. The Golgi-Cox staining method was used to describe the neural morphology of five limbic regions: (Layers 3 and 5) the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the dorsal and ventral hippocampus, the nucleus accumbens and the amygdala, showing that AMPH induced changes at pubertal ages in arborization and spine density of these neurons, but interestingly these changes did not persist at postpubertal ages. Our findings suggest that even early-life AMPH exposure does not induce long-term behavioral and morphological changes, however it causes alterations at pubertal ages in the limbic system networks, a stage of life strongly associated with the development of substance abuse behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.
authors.forename: Hiram
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tendilla-Beltrán
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico; Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, DF, Mexico.
authors.forename: Luis Enrique
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Arroyo-García
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Camacho-Abrego
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, DF, Mexico.
authors.forename: Fidel
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de la Cruz
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neurociencia Celular y Plasticidad, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Moreno
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neuropsiquiatría, Instituto de Fisiología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Mexico. Electronic address: gonzalo.flores@correo.buap.mx.
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Flores
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000661:Amphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D008032:Limbic System / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012741:Sexual Maturation
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D000661:Amphetamine
keywords: Attention deficit hyperactive disorder; Basolateral amygdala; Hippocampus; Juvenile rats; Medial prefrontal cortex; Nucleus accumbens; d-Amphetamine