Sbriccoli A, Carretta D, Santarelli M, Granato A, Minciacchi D
Institute of Neurology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
Brain Res Brain Res Protoc. 1999 Jan;3(3):264-9. doi: 10.1016/s1385-299x(98)00048-8.
We describe the protocol set-up to investigate an experimental model of foetal alcohol syndrome in the rat. The protocol has been devised to expose specific cell populations of the central nervous system to ethanol during their neurogenesis and has been applied to the study of diencephalo-telencephalic connections. We were able to demonstrate specific permanent changes of the adult thalamo-cortical circuitry. Our protocol can be applied to study other aspects of central nervous system-ethanol interactions, such as neurotransmitter and receptor patterns. It can also represent a useful tool to test the effects of different diets to prevent nutritional deficiencies and the efficacy of drug treatments to prevent foetal alcohol syndrome. We have shown in fact that ethanol-induced thalamo-cortical alterations are partially prevented by concurrent administration of acetyl-L-carnitine. Finally, the present protocol can be used to investigate the effects of ethanol exposure on the development of different brain structures. To this purpose, the gestational period for ethanol exposure must be chosen according to the peak of neurogenesis for the investigated structure.
我们描述了用于研究大鼠胎儿酒精综合征实验模型的方案设置。该方案旨在使中枢神经系统的特定细胞群在神经发生过程中暴露于乙醇，并已应用于间脑-端脑连接的研究。我们能够证明成年丘脑-皮质回路存在特定的永久性变化。我们的方案可用于研究中枢神经系统-乙醇相互作用的其他方面，如神经递质和受体模式。它也可以作为一个有用的工具，来测试不同饮食预防营养缺乏的效果以及药物治疗预防胎儿酒精综合征的疗效。事实上，我们已经表明，同时给予乙酰-L-肉碱可部分预防乙醇诱导的丘脑-皮质改变。最后，本方案可用于研究乙醇暴露对不同脑结构发育的影响。为此，必须根据所研究结构的神经发生高峰期来选择乙醇暴露的妊娠期。
