The effects of amphetamine exposure on juvenile rats on the neuronal morphology of the limbic system at prepubertal, pubertal and postpubertal ages

Publication date: Available online 18 May 2016 Source:Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy Author(s): Hiram Tendilla-Beltrán, Luis Enrique Arroyo-García, Alfonso Diaz, Israel Camacho-Abrego, Fidel de la Cruz, Antonio Rodríguez-Moreno, Gonzalo Flores 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 six limbic regions: (Layer 3 and 5) the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the dorsal an...
Source: Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research