Nutrition-dependent influence of peripheral electrical stimulation during brain development on cortical spreading depression in weaned rats.

As several other factors, nutritional deficiency and sensory input hyperactivation can influence the mammalian brain development. This work investigated the effects of repeated episodes of early peripheral electrostimulation (PE), associated or not with early malnutrition, on cortical spreading depression (CSD) propagation. From postnatal days 7-28, well-nourished and malnourished Wistar rat pups (whose mothers were fed a 23 and 8% protein diet, respectively) received daily sessions of repetitive PE (2 or 60 Hz-square-wave pulses, 1.