Experience-dependent plasticity during development results in the emergence of highly adapted representations of the external world in the adult brain. Previous studies have convincingly shown that the primary auditory cortex (A1) of the rat possesses a postnatal period of sensory input-driven plasticity but its precise timing (onset, duration, end) has not been defined. In the present study, w...

Studies of neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring exposed to MeHg from maternal consumption of fish have primarily measured cognitive abilities. Reported associations have been subtle and in both adverse and beneficial directions. Changes in functional outcomes such as school achievement and behavior in exposed children and adolescents have not been examined. We undertook an assessment of sch...

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoke exposure during prenatal and early postnatal periods increases the incidence of a variety of abnormal behaviors later in life. The purpose of this study was to identify the possible critical period of susceptibility to cigarette smoke exposure and evaluate the possibe effects of cigarette smoke during early life on brain-derived neurotrophic factor/neurotrophic tyrosi...

Overexposure to prenatal glucocorticoid (GC) disturbs hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis-associated neuroendocrine metabolism and susceptibility to metabolic syndrome. A high-fat (HF) diet is a major environmental factor that can cause metabolic syndrome. We aimed to investigate whether prenatal GC plus a postnatal HF diet could alter immune programming in rat offspring. Pregnant Spragu...

Cocaine exposure during pregnancy causes abnormality in fetal brain development, leading to cognitive dysfunction of the offspring, but the underlying cellular mechanism remains mostly unclear. In this study, we examined synaptic functions in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of postnatal rats that were exposed to cocaine in utero, using whole-cell recording from mPFC layer V pyramidal neuron...

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to examine whether maternal exposure to asthmogens during pregnancy is associated with the development of asthma in 7-year-old Danish children, taking atopic status and sex into consideration. DESIGN The study is a prospective follow-up of a birth cohort. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS A total of 41 724 women and their children from The Danish National B...

background: secondhand smoke (shs) exposure has been reported to cause a number of adverse health effects. although studies have been conducted to identify the link between shs exposure and cognitive functioning of children, its relationship is still unclear. this study aimed to identify the association of prenatal and postnatal shs exposure with cognitive ability among adolescents. methods: a ...

We study the effects of early life exposure to above average levels rainfall on adult mental health. While we find no effect from prenatal exposure, postnatal positive shocks decrease Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CESD) health scores by 13% and increase likelihood depression 6%, a more than 26% relative mean. These are limited females. rule out stress income as pathways. Early ...