Journal article
Growth restriction alters adult spatial memory and sensorimotor gating in a sex-specific manner
B Lauritz, AL Siebel, V Guille, AJ Jefferies, ME Wlodek
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease | Published : 2012
Abstract
In Western society, impaired uteroplacental blood flow is the major cause of human intrauterine growth restriction. Infants born small and who experience late childhood accelerated growth have an increased risk of developing adult diseases. Recent studies also suggest a link between birth weight and altered adult behavior, particularly relating to motor function, learning and memory, depression and schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to determine the relative influence of prenatal and postnatal growth restriction on adult behavioral outcomes in male and female rats. Uteroplacental insufficiency was induced in Wistar Kyoto rats by bilateral uterine vessel ligation on day 18 of gestation ..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Brett Purcell and Tim Brown for assistance with behavioral studies, as well as Kerryn Westcott for assistance with animal surgery. We acknowledge grant support from the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia (to M. E. W.). A. L. S. was supported by an NHMRC Peter Doherty Biomedical Research Fellowship.