Anatomical and Behavioral Sequelae of Fetal Brain Transplants in Rats With Trimethyltin-Induced Neurodegeneration

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

10-17-1991

Description

The effect of transplants of either fetal hippocampal or dorsal ventricular ridge (DVR) tissue into the brains of adult male rats exposed to TMT was determined for two behavioral tasks. Administration of TMT produced deficits in acquisition and performance of an operant differential reinforcement of low response rates (DRL) schedule and learning in the Morris water maze. The fetal transplants developed well within the TMT damaged brains of the adult rats and numerous axons could be shown to cross the host transplant interface. The transplants significantly recuced the DRL deficit produced by exposure to TMT. However, the TMT-induced deficit in water maze acquisition was made significantly worse by the hippocampal transplants. The improvement in DRL performance is attributed to the effect on the host brain of an unidentified trophic substance produced by the transplants. However, this positive effect may not protect the brain sufficiently to produce recovery in tasks demanding more complex neural computations than are required to withhold lever-press responses. The transplant-induced deficit observed in some aspects of water maze acquisition and performance may be attributable to either a tumor-like deleterious effect of the mass of the transplant or to abnormal neuronal activity transmitted from the transplant to the host brain. The results of the present study, and those from other similar studies, suggest that transplants of fetal tissue may be useful in producing changes in the brain of an animal exposed to an environmental neurotoxin, but that research should be focused upon development of transplant methodology that will minimize adverse effects of the grafts.

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