Anatomy of corpus callosum in prenatally malnourished rats

Abstract

The effect of prenatal malnutrition on the anatomy of the corpus callosum was assessed in adult rats (45-52 days old). In the prenatally malnourished animals we observed a signifi cant reduction of the corpus callosum total area, partial areas, and perimeter, as compared with normal animals. In addition, the splenium of corpus callosum (posterior fi fth) showed a signifi cant decrease of fi ber diameters in the myelinated fi bers without changing density. There was also a signifi cant decrease in diameter and a signifi cant increase in density of unmyelinated fi bers. Measurements of perimeter's fractal dimensions from sagittal sections of the brain and corpus callosum did not show signifi cant differences between malnourished and control animals. These fi ndings indicate that cortico-cortical connections are vulnerable to the prenatal malnutrition, and suggest this may affect interhemispheric conduction velocity, particulary in visual connections (splenium).

The Differential Effects of Alcohol and Nicotine-Specific Nitrosamine Ketone on White Matter Ultrastructure

“… Yang et al (2009) reported that myelinated fibre diameter in cortical WM increased with age and that the youngest female Long Evans rats (6 months) had a mean diameter of 0.56 μm, the same figure observed here. In contrast, Olivares et al (2012) quantified myelinated fibres in the corpus callosum of 6-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats and found a mean diameter of 0.49 μm. In terms of myelin sheath thickness the current mean (0.12 μm in controls) is consistent with the mean thickness in two previous studies of 0.13 μm ( He et al ., 2006 ) and 0.12 μm ( Li et al ., 2008 ).…”

“…Our study was a novel exploration of the combined effects of smoking and chronic alcohol consumption on WM ultrastructure in rats. The control group can be directly compared to previous TEM studies in rats that have looked at the effects of ageing ( Li et al ., 2008 ; Yang et al ., 2009 ), malnutrition ( Olivares et al ., 2012 ) and alcohol/thiamine deficiency ( He et al ., 2006 ). Yang et al (2009) reported that myelinated fibre diameter in cortical WM increased with age and that the youngest female Long Evans rats (6 months) had a mean diameter of 0.56 μm, the same figure observed here.…”

Dehydration-Induced Anorexia Reduces Astrocyte Density in the Rat Corpus Callosum

“…In support of this hypothesis, prenatal malnutrition affects the diameter of both myelinated and unmyelinated fibers. Moreover, an increased density of unmyelinated fibers is observed in the splenium of the CC [ 16 ]. Interestingly, the model of DIA provokes a voluntary reduction of food intake that results in acute weight loss due to dehydration [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 11 ].…”

Effects of maternal stress and nutrient restriction during gestation on offspring neuroanatomy in humans

“…For example, in an MRI study in baboons prenatally exposed to a moderate maternal malnutrition that did not affect birth weight, the relationship between the decrease in gray matter or the increase in white matter and aging was gender-specific (Franke et al, 2017). However and similar to most human studies (Aukland et al, 2011), a 40% restriction of caloric intake in pregnant rats was associated with a gender-independent reduction of the corpus callosum volume in offspring (Olivares et al, 2012).…”