[Abstract Title]. - Society for Neuroscience

section, then fostered to newly parturient dams. On Postnatal day 7, high resolution in vivo
proton MR spectra were acquired from the striatum using a 7T small animal MRI scanner using
single-voxel (3 x 3 x 3 cu mm) MRS imaging. The point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS)
sequence was applied, and positioning of MRS voxels based on T2-weighted images.
Neurometabolites derived from spectral analysis were corrected for creatine + phosphocreatine
(Cr + pCr). Significant changes in N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) and glutamate and glutamine (Glx)
were observed in PA rats as compared to non-asphyxiated controls. At 8-weeks of age, subjects
were singly housed (24hrs), placed in an open field and exposed to a 52min test comprised of a
concatenation of novel stimuli. Videographic analysis revealed magnified emotional responses to
novelty in PA rats as measured by position within the open field, responses to novel stimuli, and
social interactions. In vivo MRS is a sensitive imaging tool for detecting neurochemical changes
in early life that can be used to predict adult hyperemotionality.
Disclosures: A.E. Ronca , None; G.A. Kleven, None; C. Tulbert, None; G.G. Winn,
None; T.F. Atwood, None; J. Zhu, None.
Poster
249. Dyslexia, SLI, and Other Disorders of Cognition and Behavior
Time: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Program#/Poster#: 249.16/V1
Topic: C.05.e. Other
Support: NIH AA009838
Title: Rats exposed to binge-like ethanol on PD4-9 show altered basal dendritic complexity in
medial prefrontal cortex neurons
Authors: *G. F. HAMILTON, L. T. WHITCHER, A. Y. KLINTSOVA;
Univ. Delaware, Newark, DE
Abstract: Prenatal exposure to alcohol in humans can result in a wide range of deficits
collectively referred to as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Of these deficits, cognitive
impairments are among the most debilitating and long-lasting. Moreover, cognitive impairments
in executive functioning suggest damage to the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Recent findings
demonstrate that long-term potentiation (LTP) in medial PFC (mPFC) could not be induced in
the animal model of binge-like drinking during the third trimester equivalent (postnatal days 4-9,
PD4-9). Induction and maintenance of LTP is known to lead to more complex interactions
among neurons via increased dendritic tree complexity, branch length and spine density (Yuste
& Bonhoeffer, 2001; Nimchinsky et al., 2002). It is known that several external stimuli, such as