Effect of long-term constant illumination of female rats on the parameters of brain development in their 40-day-old progeny

摘要

We studied the progeny from female rats exposed to constant illumination for 1 month and mated with intact males 14 days after this exposure. At the age of 40 days, the progeny from experimental rats differed from the control by lower body weight, thickness of the adrenal cortex, and diameter of convoluted seminal tubules. The weight of the brain was similar in both groups. The thickness of the cortex in the parietal lobe, and especially, in the frontoparietal lobe was decreased; the neuronal density in these lobes (layers II and V) was reduced. In layer II and V neurons of the parietal lobe, the size of neuronal nuclei reduced, the concentration of RNA and activities of NADH and NADPH dehydrogenases in the cytoplasm were considerably increased. Elevated concentration of lipids was found in layer I of cerebral and cerebellar cortex and in the white matter, which attests to higher myelinization degree compared to the control.