http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-perinatal-antidepressant-stunts-brain.html Cross-sections of the part of the rat brain that connects the left and right hemisphere (corpus collosum) show stunted development of neuronal wiring, called axons, in an animal that received an antidepressant (right) during a critical period around the time of birth. A protective sheath, called myelin (visible in normal animal at left), that normally wraps the axons and boosts their efficiency, failed to develop normally in the treated animal. The resultant inefficient neuronal communications could underlie the pattern of deficits seen in autism. Credit: Rick C.S. Lin, Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center
Rats exposed to an antidepressant just before and after birth showed substantial brain abnormalities and behaviors, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
After receiving citalopram, a serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), during this critical period, long-distance connections between the two hemispheres of the brain showed stunted growth and degeneration. The animals also became excessively fearful when faced with new situations and failed to play normally with peers – behaviors reminiscent of novelty avoidance and social impairments seen in autism. The abnormalities were more pronounced in male than female rats, just as autism affects 3-4 times more boys than girls.
"Our findings underscore the importance of balanced serotonin levels – not too high or low -- for proper brain maturation," explained Rick Lin, Ph.D., of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, a Eureka Award grantee of the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health.
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