Increased neuronal activity in locus coeruleus from adult rats undernourished at perinatal age: Its reversal by desipramine

NASIF, F.J.

LIFE SCIENCES

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2001 vol. 69 p. 2551 - 2551

0024-3205

he spontaneous activity of locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic neurons was assessed by single unit recording in adult recovered rats undernourished at perinatal age as compared with wellnourished animals. Locus coeruleus activity, measured by the firing rate of noradrenergic neurons and the number of spontaneously active cells/track was significantly higher in deprived rats than in controls. In addition, dose-response curves for the inhibitory LC activity of clonidine showed a shift to the right in deprived animals indicating a subsensitivity of α2-adrenergic autoreceptors. This fact suggests an alteration in the negative feedback mechanism mediated by somatodentritic α2 autoreceptors that modulate the activity of LC neurons, and may account for the behavioral alterations attributed to early undernutrition. Repeated desipramine (DMI) administration to deprived rats reduced LC activity to values comparable to controls, which were not affected after a similar treatment. These d