Effects of Gestational Iron Deficiency on Fear Conditioning in Juvenile and Adult Rats

Overview

Journal Brain Res

Specialty Neurology

Date 2008 Sep 16

PMID 18789313

Citations 15

Authors

Jonathan C Gewirtz

Kathryn L Hamilton

Maya A Babu

Jane D Wobken

Michael K Georgieff

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The hippocampus is especially sensitive to the effects of gestational and neonatal iron deficiency, even after iron repletion. This study compared the effects of iron deficiency, maintained from gestational day 2 to postnatal day (P)7, on "delay" and "trace" fear conditioning. Only the latter paradigm is critically dependent on the dorsal hippocampus. In different groups of rats, fear conditioning commenced either prior to puberty (P28 or P35) or after puberty (P56). Fear conditioning was measured using fear-potentiated startle. Both delay and trace fear conditioning were diminished by iron deficiency at P28 and P35. Hippocampal expression of the plasticity-related protein PKC-gamma was increased through trace fear conditioning, but reduced at P35 in the iron-deficient group. Trace fear conditioning was enhanced by prior iron deficiency in the P56 group. This unanticipated finding in iron-repleted adults is consistent with the effects of developmental iron deficiency on inhibitory avoidance learning, but contrasts with the persistent deleterious long-term effects of a more severe iron-deficiency protocol, suggesting that degree and duration of iron deficiency affects the possibility of recovery from its deleterious effects.

Citing Articles

Brain Iron Homeostasis and Mental Disorders.

Wu Q, Ren Q, Meng J, Gao W, Chang Y Antioxidants (Basel). 2023; 12(11).

PMID: 38001850 PMC: 10669508. DOI: 10.3390/antiox12111997.

Sex differences in adult social, cognitive, and affective behavioral deficits following neonatal phlebotomy-induced anemia in mice.

Matveeva T, Singh G, Gisslen T, Gewirtz J, Georgieff M Brain Behav. 2021; 11(3):e01780.

PMID: 33605555 PMC: 7994701. DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1780.

Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development (BOND)-Iron Review.

Lynch S, Pfeiffer C, Georgieff M, Brittenham G, Fairweather-Tait S, Hurrell R J Nutr. 2018; 148(suppl_1):1001S-1067S.

PMID: 29878148 PMC: 6297556. DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxx036.

Early life nutrition and neural plasticity.

Georgieff M, Brunette K, Tran P Dev Psychopathol. 2015; 27(2):411-23.

PMID: 25997762 PMC: 4443711. DOI: 10.1017/S0954579415000061.

Fetal iron deficiency and genotype influence emotionality in infant rhesus monkeys.

Golub M, Hogrefe C J Nutr. 2015; 145(3):647-53.

PMID: 25733484 PMC: 4336538. DOI: 10.3945/jn.114.201798.

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