Effects of perinatal undernutrition on the basilar dendritic arbor of the anterior cingulate pyramidal neurons in lactating dams.

In altricial species, early pre- and neonatal undernutrition interferes with the neuronal organization of several brain structures that have critical time windows for synaptic organization, including the prefrontal cortex. In Golgi-Cox stained tissue the basilar dendritic arbor of pyramidal neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex of early underfed adult lactating dams was evaluated. The anterior cingulate of the rat plays a major role in the execution of sexual, maternal and visual attentional control and other cognitive responses. The effects of neonatal undernutrition on the basilar dendritic tree and perikaryon measurements in layer II/III pyramidal neurons of the anterior cingulate were examined in lactating dams at postpartum days 8 and 12. In the underfed dams the distal portions of the basilar dendrites had fewer branches and a lower dendritic density of dendrites, and neurons had perikarya with reduced perimeter and cross-sectional area. Thus, the neuronal alterations may interfere the plastic synaptic activity and with maternal cognitive performance of rats subjected to early underfeeding. These anatomical alterations of the anterior cingulate may help to understand the disruption of long-term cognitive processes associated with perinatal food restriction.