Undernutrition and the development of brain neurotransmitter systems

doi:10.1016/0024-3205(84)90507-1

Life Sciences

Volume 35, Issue 21, 19 November 1984, Pages 2085-2094

https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-3205(84)90507-1 Get rights and content

Abstract

While there are homeostatic mechanisms to protect the brain against wide fluctuations in the availability of essential nutrients, food deprivation is known to influence brain neurochemistry. Given the growing problem of infant undernutrition and the fact that the developing nervous system appears to be especially vulnerable to this type of insult, numerous studies have been conducted to define the relationship between nutritional factors and cellular growth and maturation in the brain. The data suggest that the development of both neural and nonneural elements are significantly affected by undernutrition. This includes processes and substances important for neurotransmission such as transmitter synthesis, degradation and receptor sites. Because many neuropsychiatric conditions can be traced to dysfunctions in synaptic neurochemistry, it is possible that some of the central nervous system abnormalities which result from childhood undernutrition may be a consequence of a modification in synaptic biochemistry. The present report reviews data relating to this issue with the aim of assessing its relevance to developmental neurobiology.

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Malnutrition caused alterations in the number and distribution of neurotransmitter receptors (Almeida et al., 1996a). It is also known to affect cathecolaminergic, serotoninergic (Wiggins et al., 1984), glutamatergic (Rotta et al., 2003) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) ergic (Steiger et al., 2003, 2002) neurotransmission. Exposure to prenatal protein malnutrition altered the behavioral response to stress (Trzcinska et al., 1999).
Protein malnutrition or undernutrition can result in abnormal development of the brain. Depending on type, age at onset and duration, different structural and functional deficits can be observed. In the present review, we discuss the neuroanatomical, behavioral, neurochemical and oxidative status changes associated with protein malnutrition or undernutrition at different ages during prenatal and immediately postnatal periods as well as in adult rat. Analysis of all data suggests that protein malnutrition as well as undernutrition induced impaired learning and retention when imposed during the immediately postnatal period and in adulthood, whereas hyperactivity including increased impulsiveness and greater reactivity to aversive stimuli occurred when malnutrition or undernutrition was imposed either pre or postnatally. This general state of hyperreactivity may be linked essentially to an alteration in dopaminergic system. Hence, the present review shows that in spite of the attention devoted in the literature to prenatal effects, cognitive deficits are more serious following malnutrition or undernutrition after birth. We thus clearly establish a special vulnerability to malnutrition after weaning in rats.
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Early protein restriction during the prenatal period has significant repercussions on the ontogeny and development of the central nervous system. The present study investigates whether early prenatal protein malnutrition could alter the electrical cerebral activity of the progeny. We used Sprague–Dawley female rats of 200 g randomly divided into three groups: a control group that received a diet with 25% of the protein content (lactalbumin), the experimental group, that received a diet with 6% of the protein content and the rehabilitated group that initially received a diet with 6% of the protein content, then switched to a diet with 25% of the protein content after the weaning period (P20D) up to 60 days of life (P60D). Reduction of the protein content from 25% to 6% of lactalbumin in the diet of pregnant rats produces impairment in the electrical cerebral activity in the progeny at P20D and at P60D. The power spectral analysis for each one of the electroencephalograms revealed that prenatal protein malnutrition in rats produced a significant reduction of the alpha (8–13 Hz) and the beta bands (13–30 Hz) and a significant increase of the theta (4–8 Hz), and delta bands (1–4 Hz), at two different stages of life (P20D and P60D). Similar results were obtained for the rehabilitated group. These results indicate that early malnutrition in life affects the ontogeny of the electrical cerebral activity. This insult probably disrupts the establishment of cortical neural circuits during the critical period of brain development. The rehabilitation period did not revert the impairment in the electrical cerebral activity produced by malnutrition. We used one-way ANOVA analysis, followed by Tukey test (*p < 0.001).
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Citation Excerpt :
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MinireviewUndernutrition and the development of brain neurotransmitter systems

Abstract

Brain Res.

Brain Res.

Brain Res.

Brain Res

J. Nutr.

Brain Res.

J. Nutr.

Brain Res.

Brain Res. Bull.

Exptl. Neurol.

J. Nutr.

J. Nutr.

Pharmacol. Biochem. & Behav.

Exptl. Neurol.

Brain Res. Bull.

Exptl. Neurol.

Exptl. Neurol.

Brain Res.

Brain Res.

Malnutrition and Brain Development

Life Sci

Malnutrition and Retarded Human Development

Neurochem. Res.

Minireview
Undernutrition and the development of brain neurotransmitter systems