CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Obstetrical complications, especially in perinatal asphyxia, can ofteninduce lesions that, in long-term, manifest as schizophrenia.Deterioration of the medial prefrontal cortex and reduction in the numberof reelin GABAergic neurons are commonly observed in the pathophysiologyof schizophrenia. In this work, we begin to analyze the link betweenperinatal asphyxia, reelin diminution and psychiatric diseases thatinvolve social interaction deficits. In this direction we have decided toanalyze the effect of perinatal asphyxia on the pattern of immunolabeledreelin neurons in the prelimbic cortex of the rat. We have also analyzedthe effect of perinatal asphyxia on social behavior, anxiety likebehavior and locomotor activity.This was achieved by observing the effect of 19 min of asphyxia.Perinatal asphyxia was produced by water immersion of fetus-containinguterus horns removed by cesarean section from ready to deliver rats. AtPND 35 the rats were tested with two behavioral paradigms, the open fieldand the social interaction task.Perinatal asphyxia generates a significant and specific decrease in thenumber of reelin secreting neurons in prefrontal cortex layer VI thatreach on average approximately %70 (F= 1,299 P=0,33; multiplecomparison: 1000μm depth CC vs. PA P= 0,045; 1100μm depth CC vs. PAP=0.040). The decrease in the number of reelin neurons is not accompaniedby a reduction of neurons or cells in general.A small, but significant, difference can be seen when the distance frompia mater to the start of layer VI is analyzed (CC Mean ± SEM= 768,9 ±8,382 PA Mean ± SEM=669,3 ± 17,75; P= 0,036). Rats exposed to perinatalasphyxia show deterioration in social interactions that manifests as adecrease in play soliciting. In this model, which involvessevere/moderated asphyxia, we don´t find significant changes inlocomotive activity neither in anxiety indicators in the open field task.With the exception of an increase in fecal depositions in the born by csectiongroup. When this parameter is analyzed in the social interactiontask, the results are the opposite; the asphyctic group shows an increasecompared with the cesarean group. The loss of reelin neurons couldconduce to the shrinkage of the prelimbic cortex by reduction of theneuropil. We also observe a deterioration of the function that manifestas a reduction in play soliciting, a task in which prefrontal cortex isinvolved.