Neuron transplantation reverses phenobarbital-induced behavioral birth defects in mice

Joseph Yanai*, Chaim G. Pick

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

36 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mice were exposed to phenobarbital prenatally on gestation days 9-18 (B mice), and were tested at adulthood for behavioral changes. B mice showed deficits in the eight-arm maze, a behavior related to the septohippocampal pathways. Consequently, transplantation of septal (mostly cholinergic) and locus coeruleus (mostly noradrenergic) neurons was applied to reverse the behavioral deficits. Most (75%) of the controls but none of the B mice reached a specific criterion in the eight-arm maze. However, transplantation of fetal septal tissue into the hippocampus of B mice enabled 55% of them to reach criterion. Transplantation of locus coeruleus tissue did not improve the performance of B mice. The viability of the transplants was confirmed in cytochemical studies. The results suggest that transplantation of neurons can be applied to reverse phenobarbital-induced behavioral birth defects.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)409-416
Number of pages8
JournalInternational Journal of Developmental Neuroscience
Volume6
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1988
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Eight-arm maze
  • Hippocampus
  • Locus coeruleus cells
  • Mice
  • Phenobarbital
  • Prenatal exposure
  • Septal cells
  • Transplantation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Neuron transplantation reverses phenobarbital-induced behavioral birth defects in mice'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this