Anatomical Effects of prenatal and early postnatal malnutrition. The developing brain and the environment – psych notes continued.

Anatomical Effects of prenatal and early postnatal malnutrition

- fewer neurons in the cerebellum (granule cells, and fewer synapsis/neurons

- fewer neurons in hippocampus (dentate gyrus and CA1, CA3;

-neo cortex: normal number of neurons but less dentrubic branching, fewer synapsis, fewer glia cells.

Big focus on cognitive abilities-intellectual ability- cells are there early but connections are formed after birth when get experience.  If don’t have this – found fewer dentrite spines and ones there are often misformed.

They looked along dentrite that goes up – cell body was normal only has gone up.

Read methods carefully.  It is important to think that study was blind and therefore not biased when studies are done.  You don’t want bias coming into this.

Is it a good study?

How to ask? And timing

Long term Potentiation (LTP)

Conditioning Stimulus – train of pulse bursts

EPSP – excitatory post – synaptic potential

(not able to post diagrams here – sorry readers)

If stimulate (electrically) pathway measure pulse along path – already through one synapse (one little pathway) (similar to EEG)

-repeatedly firing this pathway – after this – if stimulate again instead of being the same, it is much bigger – they like to think it is learning.

LTP and Malnutrition

Measure increase after conditioning it – stays up for a very long time- causes a change in the efficiency of synapses.

They undernourished rats in early life and then tested- found got LTP (increase) but not as big and not as long.

LTP in old rats show the same pattern but does not last.

This is not clearly shown in behaviour.  

 good evidence of early life malnutrition impact in the brain.