Objectives: The current study, therefore, aimed at determining the effects of nicotine on the frontal cortex of animal models during the process of development.
Methods: Adult female Wistar rats were mated after determination of their oestrous cycle. Pregnant rats were categorised as 1st and 2nd gestational weeks (GW), each divided into a control and treated group. While the treated groups received 0.1 ml of 13.76 mg/kg nicotine, the control received 0.1 ml of normal saline. Treatment was intra-peritoneal, for 6 consecutive days per GW. After delivery, the weights of pups were monitored, and at postnatal day 35 (P35), they were sacrificed by cervical dislocation. The skull was opened and the brain removed; the brain was weighed, after which the frontal cortex was excised and weighed. The frontal cortex was processed for quantitative analysis of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and tissue histology.
Results: Findings revealed low birth weights in pups treated with prenatal nicotine, while the brain and body weights at P35 significantly reduced in 1st GW group, but increased in 2nd GW group. The tissue activity of LDH reduced in 1st GW group, but elevated in the 2nd GW group. The microarchitecture of the frontal cortex was altered with reduced cell population, loss of cellular components and reduced staining intensity.
Conclusion: The detrimental effects of prenatal nicotine could affect cortical functions later in life.
Key words: Frontal cortex, histology, LDH, prenatal nicotine
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