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The neural basis of attentional alterations in prenatally protein malnourished rats
R J Rushmore1,2,3, J A McGaughy4, A C Amaral1
1Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston MA.
Insights
Prenatal protein malnutrition in rats impairs prefrontal cortex function, leading to increased distractibility and altered brain network activity into adulthood. These changes suggest compensatory brain network formation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Maternal protein malnutrition during gestation impacts fetal brain development.
- This can lead to persistent behavioral and cognitive deficits, increasing neuropsychiatric disorder risk.
- The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is crucial for cognitive functions affected by prenatal malnutrition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural basis of cognitive deficits in adult rats exposed to prenatal protein malnutrition.
- To examine how prefrontal cortex function and brain network activity are affected by gestational protein restriction.
- To determine if altered neural activity predicts performance on a sustained attention task.
Main Methods:
- Adult rats with a history of prenatal protein malnutrition and controls performed a sustained attention task with distractors.
- Neural activity was measured using radiolabeled 2-deoxyglucose to assess brain network engagement.
- Task performance and prefrontal cortex activity were correlated.
Main Results:
- Prenatally malnourished rats exhibited increased distractibility compared to controls.
- Malnourished rats showed reduced functional activity in prefrontal cortices during the task.
- Prefrontal cortex activity predicted performance in controls but not in malnourished rats, which relied on limbic networks like the hippocampus.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal protein malnutrition induces lasting alterations in prefrontal cortex function and brain network organization.
- These findings suggest that the developing brain forms alternative networks, potentially as a compensatory mechanism.
- Gestational protein restriction has broader effects on brain development and network function than previously understood.
Abstract:
Protein malnutrition during gestation alters brain development and produces specific behavioral and cognitive changes that persist into adulthood and increase the risks of neuropsychiatric disorders. Given evidence for the role of the prefrontal cortex in such diseases, it is significant that studies in humans and animal models have shown that prenatal protein malnutrition specifically affects functions associated with prefrontal cortex. However, the neural basis underlying these changes is unclear. In the current study, prenatally malnourished and control rats performed a sustained attention task with an unpredictable distractor, a task that depends on intact prefrontal cortical function. Radiolabeled 2-deoxyglucose was used to measure neural and brain network activity during the task. Results confirmed that adult prenatally malnourished rats were more distractible than controls and exhibited lower functional activity in prefrontal cortices. Thus, prefrontal activity was a predictor of task performance in controls but not prenatally malnourished animals. Instead, prenatally malnourished animals relied on different brain networks involving limbic structures such as the hippocampus. These results provide evidence that protein reduction during brain development has more wide-reaching effects on brain networks than previously appreciated, resulting in the formation of brain networks that may reflect compensatory responses in prenatally malnourished brains.
