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Alterations in dendritic morphology of hippocampal neurons in adult rats after neonatal administration of N ‐omega‐nitro‐ L ‐arginine
Author(s) -
MoralesMedina Julio César,
Mejorada Alejandro,
RomeroCuriel Alejandra,
Flores Gonzalo
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
synapse
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.809
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1098-2396
pISSN - 0887-4476
DOI - 10.1002/syn.20406
Subject(s) - dendritic spine , hippocampus , hippocampal formation , nitric oxide synthase , prefrontal cortex , nitric oxide , chemistry , medicine , endocrinology , arginine , pyramidal cell , golgi apparatus , neuroscience , biology , biochemistry , cell , cognition , amino acid
The dendritic length and dendritic‐spine density of the pyramidal neurons of the prefrontal cortex and the CA1 hippocampus of rats using the nonselective nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N ‐omega‐nitro‐ L ‐arginine (L‐NNA) at different postnatal day (P) periods of the brain development (P1–P3, P4–P6, and P7–P9) were assessed using Golgi–Cox staining after puberty (P60). At P4–P6, the L‐NNA treatment produced a significant decrease of the dendritic length and dendritic‐spine density of the pyramidal cells of the CA1 hippocampus. In addition, the dendritic length of the pyramidal neurons of the CA1 hippocampus decreased because of the L‐NNA treatment at P1–P3. These data suggest that during a specific step in the development of the brain, the nitric oxide levels may play a critical role in the morphological modifications of the pyramidal neurons of the CA1 hippocampus at postpubertal age. Synapse 61:785–789, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.