Embryonic alcohol exposure alters cholinergic neurotransmission and memory in adult zebrafish.
Behav Brain Res
; 474: 115176, 2024 Aug 02.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39098400
ABSTRACT
Alcohol is the most consumed addictive substance worldwide that elicits multiple health problems. Consumption of alcoholic beverages by pregnant women is of great concern because pre-natal exposure can trigger fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). This disorder can significantly change the embryo's normal development, mainly by affecting the central nervous system (CNS), leading to neurobehavioral consequences that persist until adulthood. Among the harmful effects of FASD, the most reported consequences are cognitive and behavioral impairments. Alcohol interferes with multiple pathways in the brain, affecting memory by impairing neurotransmitter systems, increasing the rate of oxidative stress, or even activating neuroinflammation. Here, we aimed to evaluate the deleterious effects of alcohol on the cholinergic signaling and memory in a FASD zebrafish model, using inhibitory avoidance and novel object recognition tests. Four months after the embryonic exposure to ethanol, the behavioral tests indicated that ethanol impairs memory. While both ethanol concentrations tested (0.5â¯% and 1â¯%) disrupted memory acquisition in the inhibitory avoidance test, 1â¯% ethanol impaired memory in the object recognition test. Regarding the cholinergic system, 0.5â¯% ethanol decreased ChAT and AChE activities, but the relative gene expression did not change. Overall, we demonstrated that FASD model in zebrafish impairs memory in adult individuals, corroborating the memory impairment associated with embryonic exposure to ethanol. In addition, the cholinergic system was also affected, possibly showing a relation with the cognitive impairment observed.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Behav Brain Res
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article