TITLE:
Effects of Perinatal Undernutrition and Massage Stimulation upon the Ambiguus Nucleus in the Rat Prior to Weaning
AUTHORS:
Dora Lopez-Jimenez, Carmen Torrero, Mirelta Regalado, Manuel Salas
KEYWORDS:
Nucleus Ambiguus; Development; Massage Stimulation; Perinatal Undernutrition; Rat Pups
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science,
Vol.3 No.2,
May
24,
2013
ABSTRACT: Undernutrition produces morphological brain alterations
and cognitive deficiencies in children of underdeveloped countries. The central
nervous system (CNS) alterations mainly interfere with the anatomical
organization of areas undergoing a phase of intense postnatal cell
proliferation, disrupting plastic processes like learning, memory, and phonation.
In the rat pup, prenatal malnutrition interferes with the elaboration of
ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) by poorly understood mechanisms. The neuronal
caudal portion of the nucleus ambiguus (Ambc) innervates the laryngeal
intrinsic muscles to produce phonation, a basic USV communication system.
During postnatal development, enhanced plasticity phenomena play a fundamental
role in improving brain function. Thus, the massage stimulation (MS) may
accelerate growth and induce neurogenesis in different areas of the brain. The
current study analyzed the effects of a daily 10-min MS on the dendritic tree
and perikarya measurements of Ambc multipolar motoneurons (Golgi-Cox) of
perinatally underfed (U), control (C), control massage-stimulated (CMS), and
underfed massage-stimulated (UMS) groups at postnatal days (PDs) 8, 12, and
15. The data indicated that the dendritic scores were reduced (p