The effects of early-life undernutrition and subsequent environment on morphological parameters of the rat brain.

The investigation examines the extent to which lasting effects of early-life undernutrition on the brain of rats can be modified by manipulating the amount of environmental stimulation later. Infant rats were undernourished during the vulnerable brain growth spurt in the lactation period; then after two months of unrestricted feeding, they were placed in enriched or impoverished environments. Measurements of the forebrain, posterior cerebral cortex and hippocampus showed that neither undernutrition nor environmental stimulation affected the brain uniformly and that some parameters were more susceptible to one condition than the other. Where nutritional and environmental conditions affected the same anatomical dimensions, their combined effects appeared to be additive rather than synergistic.