[Abstract Title]. - Society for Neuroscience

Title: Differential sensitivity of hippocampal spatial memory and plasticity to dietary choline
supply in adulthood as a function of prenatal choline availability
Authors: *S. J. WONG-GOODRICH 1 , M. J. GLENN 1 , T. J. MELLOTT 2 , J. K.
BLUSZTAJN 2 , W. H. MECK 1 , C. L. WILLIAMS 1 ;
1 Psychol& Neurosci, Duke Univ., Durham, NC; 2 Pathology and Lab. Med., Boston Univ.,
Boston, MA
Abstract: Altered dietary choline early in life leads to persistent changes in memory precision
and capacity and hippocampal plasticity in adulthood. Early choline availability also appears to
metabolically imprint the developing brain, resulting in long-term changes in synthesis, storage
and release of acetylcholine, and reuptake and recycling of choline. Metabolic imprinting by
early choline availability may make a brain differentially sensitive to choline supply in adulthood
via determining the range of adult choline intake that is optimal for cognitive function and
hippocampal plasticity. To test this, we conducted two experiments that investigated the
interactive effects of prenatal choline and adult choline availability on 1) hippocampal dependent
tasks of spatial memory, and 2) adult dentate cell proliferation/neurogenesis as a measure of
hippocampal plasticity. Pregnant rats received either a choline-supplemented (SUP), -control
(CON), or -deficient (DEF) diet on embryonic days 12-17. Adult male offspring from each diet
group were used as subjects and were maintained on the CON (1.1 g/kg) diet. In Exp. 1,
postnatal day 70 rats were first trained on a radial arm maze (RAM) for 14 d and then switched
to a SUP or DEF diet for 24 d (10 d with no training followed by 14 d of RAM retraining). When
maintained on a CON diet, prenatal SUP and DEF rats showed enhanced RAM performance
compared to prenatal CON rats. When switched to a DEF diet, prenatal SUP rats were slightly
impaired while CON and DEF rats were relatively unaffected. In contrast, when switched to a
SUP (5.0 g/kg) diet, prenatal CON and DEF rats were significantly impaired, with DEF rats
showing the greatest impairment, and prenatal SUP rats were relatively unaffected. Exp. 2
examined whether extended adult supplementation in older rats would affect hippocampal
function and plasticity as a function of prenatal choline treatment. Twelve mo. old prenatal SUP,
CON, and DEF rats either remained on a CON diet or were put on a SUP diet for 16 weeks.
After 12 weeks, rats were trained on a spatial working memory water maze task, then given 10
daily injections of BrdU to label newly dividing cells in the hippocampus, and then sacrificed 24
hrs following the last injection. Consistent with Exp.1, long-term adult SUP impairs performance
of prenatal DEF rats while prenatal CON and SUP rats are less affected. This impairment in
water maze performance was also accompanied by a decrease in levels of dentate cell
proliferation in the hippocampus. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the in utero
availability of an essential nutrient, choline, causes differential behavioral and neuroplastic
sensitivity to the adult choline supply.
Disclosures: S.J. Wong-Goodrich, None; M.J. Glenn, None; T.J. Mellott, None; J.K.
Blusztajn, None; W.H. Meck, None; C.L. Williams, None.
Poster