Postnatal Malnutrition and Brain Cholinesterase in Rats

Abstract

SEVERE malnutrition, especially protein–calorie restriction, early in the life of rats¹ and pigs² can cause behavioural abnormalities which persist long after nutritional rehabilitation. The physiological or biochemical basis for these abnormalities is not known, although long term, irreversible alterations in total DNA³ and brain lipid content have been found to result from early malnutrition. A part of the brain which has been demonstrated to be involved in the control of behaviour is the central cholinergic mechanism⁵, and changes in brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and Cholinesterase (ChE) have been reported to be correlated with behavioural changes in animals subjected to different environmental situations⁶. Furthermore, Sereni et al. found that undernutrition during the first 3 weeks of life decreased the activity of AChE in the brains of rats until they were 2 weeks old. We have now investigated the effects of early protein–calorie restriction on the activity of ChE in the brain.