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Prenatal nicotine exposure evokes alterations of cell structure in hippocampus and somatosensory cortex.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Roy, TS; Seidler, FJ; Slotkin, TA
Published in: J Pharmacol Exp Ther
January 2002

Offspring of women who smoke during pregnancy show behavioral abnormalities, including increased incidence of attentional deficit, learning disabilities, and cognitive dysfunction. Animal models indicate that nicotine elicits changes in neural cell replication and differentiation, leading to deficits in synaptic neurochemistry and behavioral performance, many of which first emerge at adolescence. We evaluated cellular morphology and regional architecture in the juvenile and adolescent hippocampus and the somatosensory cortex in rats exposed to nicotine prenatally. Pregnant rats were given nicotine throughout gestation via minipump infusion of 2 mg/kg/day, a regimen that elicits nicotine plasma levels comparable with those found in smokers. On postnatal days 21 and 30, brains were perfusion-fixed, coronal slices were taken between the anterior commissure and median eminence, and the morphology of the dorsal hippocampus and somatosensory cortex was characterized. In the hippocampal CA3 region and dentate gyrus, we found a substantial decrease in cell size, with corresponding decrements in cell layer thickness, and increments in cell packing density. Smaller, transient changes were seen in CA1. In layer 5 of the somatosensory cortex, although there was no significant decrement in the average cell size, there was a reduction in the proportion of medium-sized pyramidal neurons, and an increase in the proportion of smaller, nonpyramidal cells. All regions showed elevated numbers of glia. Taken together with previous work on neurochemical and functional defects, these data demonstrate that prenatal nicotine exposure compromises neuronal maturation, leading to long-lasting alterations in the structure of key brain regions involved in cognition, learning, and memory.

Duke Scholars

Published In

J Pharmacol Exp Ther

DOI

ISSN

0022-3565

Publication Date

January 2002

Volume

300

Issue

1

Start / End Page

124 / 133

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Somatosensory Cortex
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Rats
  • Pyramidal Cells
  • Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
  • Pregnancy
  • Pharmacology & Pharmacy
  • Nicotinic Agonists
  • Nicotine
  • Hippocampus
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Roy, T. S., Seidler, F. J., & Slotkin, T. A. (2002). Prenatal nicotine exposure evokes alterations of cell structure in hippocampus and somatosensory cortex. J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 300(1), 124–133. https://doi.org/10.1124/jpet.300.1.124
Roy, Tara Sankar, Frederic J. Seidler, and Theodore A. Slotkin. “Prenatal nicotine exposure evokes alterations of cell structure in hippocampus and somatosensory cortex.J Pharmacol Exp Ther 300, no. 1 (January 2002): 124–33. https://doi.org/10.1124/jpet.300.1.124.
Roy TS, Seidler FJ, Slotkin TA. Prenatal nicotine exposure evokes alterations of cell structure in hippocampus and somatosensory cortex. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2002 Jan;300(1):124–33.
Roy, Tara Sankar, et al. “Prenatal nicotine exposure evokes alterations of cell structure in hippocampus and somatosensory cortex.J Pharmacol Exp Ther, vol. 300, no. 1, Jan. 2002, pp. 124–33. Pubmed, doi:10.1124/jpet.300.1.124.
Roy TS, Seidler FJ, Slotkin TA. Prenatal nicotine exposure evokes alterations of cell structure in hippocampus and somatosensory cortex. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2002 Jan;300(1):124–133.

Published In

J Pharmacol Exp Ther

DOI

ISSN

0022-3565

Publication Date

January 2002

Volume

300

Issue

1

Start / End Page

124 / 133

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Somatosensory Cortex
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Rats
  • Pyramidal Cells
  • Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
  • Pregnancy
  • Pharmacology & Pharmacy
  • Nicotinic Agonists
  • Nicotine
  • Hippocampus