Project
Structural and Functional Changes in the Rat Hippocampus following Prenatal Ethanol Exposure
Principal Investigator(s): Brian Christie, phone: 604-822-2296/0025, email: bchristie@psych.ubc.ca
Start/End Date: 2003 ongoing
Location: UBC, Vancouver, BC
Brief Description: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or FAS refers to a set of profound morphological and neurological aberrations that are apparent in the offspring of heavy alcohol consumers. Surprisingly, moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy can also cause subtle, long-term, impairments even in the absence of the gross morphological or generalized neurological defects normally associated with FAS. Our interest in this phenomenon stems from the paucity of data on both severe and moderate forms of FAS, and how they affect the neurobiological mechanisms underlying learning and memory formation. Our investigations will focus on the hippocampal formation, an area of the brain known to be involved in learning and memory formation in mammals. We have preliminary evidence that demonstrates that prenatal ethanol exposure (PNEE) causes a reduction in hippocampal neurogenesis and long-term potentiation, as well as hippocampal dependent forms of learning. Furthermore, we also have evidence that voluntary exercise can attenuate the severity of these disturbances in hippocampal function. Our investigations will determine (1) the extent that PNEE alters hippocampal physiology and neuronal morphology; (2) the benefits of exercise in attenuating these deficits; (3) whether levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or the expression of different NMDA subunits are responsible for the impact of PNEE on hippocampal structure and function. Together, these studies will help to elucidate the therapeutic potential of exercise for rescuing hippocampal dependent learning from the debilitating effects of PNEE.
Time Frame: ongoing
Kind of Project: research
Publications:
Christie BR, Swann SE, Fox CJ, Froc D, Lieblich SE, Redila V, Webber A. Voluntary exercise rescues deficits in spatial memory and long-term potentiation in prenatal ethanol-exposed male rats. Eur J Neurosci. 2005 Mar;21(6): 1719-1726.
Eadie BD, Redila VA, Christie BR. Voluntary exercise alters the cytoarchitecture of the adult dentate gyrus by increasing cellular proliferation, dendritic complexity, and spine density. J Comp Neurol. 2005 May 23;486(1): 39-47.
Hill MN, Froc DJ, Fox CJ, Gorzalka BB, Christie BR. Prolonged cannabinoid treatment results in spatial working memory deficits and impaired long-term potentiation in the CA1 region of the hippocampus in vivo. Eur J Neurosci. 2004 Aug;20(3): 859-63.
Farmer J, Zhao X, van Praag H, Wodtke K, Gage FH, Christie BR. Effects of voluntary exercise on synaptic plasticity and gene expression in the dentate gyrus of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats in vivo. Neuroscience. 2004;124(1): 71-9.
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