title: Tactile stimulation partially prevents neurodevelopmental changes in visual tract caused by early iron deficiency.
abstract: Iron deficiency has a critical impact on maturational mechanisms of the brain and the damage related to neuroanatomical parameters is not satisfactorily reversed after iron replacement. However, emerging evidence suggest that enriched early experience may offer great therapeutic efficacy in cases of nutritional disorders postnatally, since the brain is remarkably responsive to its interaction with the environment. Given the fact that tactile stimulation (TS) treatment has been previously shown to be an effective therapeutic approach and with potential application to humans, here we ask whether exposure to TS treatment, from postnatal day (P) 1 to P32 for 3min/day, could also be employed to prevent neuroanatomical changes in the optic nerve of rats maintained on an iron-deficient diet during brain development. We found that iron deficiency changed astrocyte, oligodendrocyte, damaged fiber, and myelinated fiber density, however, TS reversed the iron-deficiency-induced alteration in oligodendrocyte, damaged fiber and myelinated fiber density, but failed to reverse astrocyte density. Our results suggest that early iron deficiency may act by disrupting the timing of key steps in visual system development thereby modifying the normal progression of optic nerve maturation. However, optic nerve development is sensitive to enriching experiences, and in the current study we show that this sensitivity can be used to prevent damage from postnatal iron deficiency during the critical period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Laboratory of Neuroanatomy, Department of Surgery and Anatomy, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: horiquini@usp.br.
authors.forename: Everton
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Horiquini-Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Robbin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gibb
authors.affiliation: Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kolb
authors.affiliation: Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bray
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuroanatomy, Department of Surgery and Anatomy, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Joao-Jose
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lachat
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001835:Body Weight; D004032:Diet; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006234:Handling, Psychological; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D008297:Male; D026201:Musculoskeletal Manipulations; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000066829:Neuroprotection; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000098:blood supply / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D011897:Random Allocation; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000098:blood supply / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Astrocyte; Myelinated fibers; Neonatal handling; Neurodevelopment; Oligodendrocyte; Optic nerve; Tactile stimulation