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Mental Retardation and Neurochemistry
Author(s) -
HIRANO Shusuke
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
congenital anomalies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1741-4520
pISSN - 0914-3505
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-4520.1988.tb00575.x
Subject(s) - neurochemical , neurochemistry , offspring , neuroscience , amino acid metabolism , brain development , psychology , endocrinology , medicine , biology , metabolism , pregnancy , neurology , genetics
Neurochemical aspect of mental retardation is described, with special reference to phenylketonuria (PKU) as a cause of the inhibition of brain development. Biochemical and behavioral findings are outlined in S few animal models of PKU, including that of “maternal PKU” in which genetically normal offspring of rats with experimental PKU show significantly lowered discrimination learning ability. Possible roles of disordered amino acid metabolism and defective myelination in the inhibited brain development are briefly discussed.