Perinatal thiamine restriction affects central GABA and glutamate concentrations and motor behavior of adult rat offspring.

The purposes of the present study were to investigate the effects of perinatal thiamine deficiency, from the 11th day of gestation until the 5th day of lactation, on motor behavior and neurochemical parameters in adult rat offspring, using 3-month-old, adult, male Wistar rats. All rats were submitted to motor tests, using the rotarod and paw print tasks. After behavioral tests, their thalamus, cerebellum and spinal cord were dissected for glutamate and GABA quantifications by high performance liquid chromatography.

The connection between maternal thiamine shortcoming and offspring cognitive damage and poverty perpetuation in underprivileged communities across the world.

The acquisition of cognitive, sensory-motor and social emotional functions depend on a proper development of the Central Nervous System (CNS). This set of functions, known as intelligence, allows a better adaptation to the environment. In the last decades, an increase in the average of intelligence has been reported.

Maternal thiamine restriction during lactation induces cognitive impairments and changes in glutamate and GABA concentrations in brain of rat offspring.

Maternal thiamine deficiency causes changes in cellular energy metabolism that can interfere with offspring brain development. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of thiamine restriction, during lactation, on offspring neurochemistry and cognitive parameters. Male young (31 days old) and adult (75 days old) rats, from control and restricted mothers, were submitted to spatial learning and memory assessment.

Improved high-performance liquid chromatographic method for GABA and glutamate determination in regions of the rodent brain.

A C18 reversed-phase column and isocratic fluorescence HPLC method for the simultaneous detection of glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is described. In this article a fast and more efficient method for the extraction of these neurotransmitters in rat brain tissue is also presented. The supernatant was derivatized with o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) and analyzed by HPLC with fluorescence detection.