1988/01/01 by Joseph Yanai, Chaim G. Pick · 4 citations
Neuroscience · Psychology · #Anesthesia and Neurotoxicity Research #Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms #Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
paper · doi:10.1016/0736-5748(88)90046-9
openalex publication_date 1988/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Mice were exposed to phenobarbital prenatally on gestation days 9-18 (B mice), and were tested at adulthood for behavioral changes. B mice showed deficits in the eight-arm maze, a behavior related to the septohippocampal pathways. Consequently, transplantation of septal (mostly cholinergic) and locus coeruleus (mostly noradrenergic) neurons was applied to reverse the behavioral deficits. Most (75%) of the controls but none of the B mice reached a specific criterion in the eight-arm maze. However, transplantation of fetal septal tissue into the hippocampus of B mice enabled 55% of them to reach criterion. Transplantation of locus coeruleus tissue did not improve the performance of B mice. The viability of the transplants was confirmed in cytochemical studies. The results suggest that transplantation of neurons can be applied to reverse phenobarbital-induced behavioral birth defects.