LONG-LASTING BEHAVIORAL CONSEQUENCES AFTER PRENATAL ETHANOL EXPOSURE. CONTRIBUTING ROLE OF SEROTONIN AND ASTROCYTES AND THE REVERSAL ACTION OF BUSPIRONE

S. G. EVRARD, A. ROSSI, P. FONTANET, M. P. ARONNE, A. BRUSCO

Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Congreso; Congreso Internacional de Neuropsicología; 2008

International Neuropsychological Society (INS) y la Sociedad de Neuropsicología de Argentina (SONEPSA)

Objective : Prenatal ethanol exposure (PEE) is the cause of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is a rather neglected cause for mental retardation, epilepsy and attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder during childhood; antisocial- and borderline personality disorders, substance abuse/dependence, psychotic and major affective disorders during adolescence and adulthood. The serotonergic system is a major PEE-affected neurotransmitter systems. Serotonin is (5HT) involved in the pathophysiology of many neuropsychiatric disorders. During prenatal-, childhood-, adolescence- and adulthood-brain development, 5HT, acting through astrocytic 5HT1A receptors induce the release of a neurite growth-promoting and neurotrophic factor: the S100b protein. S100b maintains a mature and “healthy” state on neuronal circuits which ultimately subserve cognitions and behaviors.In this work, we studied all this factors in a single experimental paradigm and the potential reversing action of a 5HT1A receptor partial agonist in behavioral and morphological experiments.Participants and Methods: Buspirone 4,5 mg/kg/day sc was given to pregnant rats from E13-E20 concomitantly with EtOH 6.6% in drinking water in a FAS model with a low PEE paradigm. Motor and anxiety systems of adult rats were behaviorally tested. Immunocytochemical experiments to explore neurons and astrocytes at different ages were made.Results : Altered tests of motor and anxiety-like behaviors and concurrent microscopic dysmorphologies in the serotoninergic system, astrocytes, and prosencephalic neurons of regions subserving cognitive and motor systems in the rat brain were found at different ages. A partial reversion of these findings were found when buspirone was given during pregnancy.Conclusions : Buspirone, a nonbenzodiazepine anxiolitic drug in current clinical use, is able to partially reverse the deleterious actions of PEE not only on microscopic brain morphology but also in behaviors and is a potentially usefull agent in order to reverse ethanol damage on human FAS.