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The Journal of Neuroscience, 0000, 20:RC109:1-6

RAPID COMMUNICATION
Protective Effects of Prenatal Choline Supplementation on Seizure-Induced Memory Impairment

Yili Yang¹, Zhao Liu¹, Jennifer M. Cermak², Pushpa Tandon¹, Matthew R. Sarkisian¹, Carl E. Stafstrom³, John C. Neill⁴, Jan K. Blusztajn², and Gregory L. Holmes¹

¹ Department of Neurology, Center for Research in Pediatric Epilepsy, Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital, ² Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, ³ Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin, and ⁴ Southampton College of Long Island University, Southampton, New York

Choline is an essential nutrient for rats and humans, and its availability during fetal development has long-lasting cognitive effects (Blusztajn, 1998). We investigated the effects of prenatal choline supplementation on memory deficits associated with status epilepticus. Pregnant rats received a control or choline-supplemented diet during days 11-17 of gestation. Male offspring [postnatal day 29 (P29)-32] were tested for their ability to find a platform in a water maze before and after administration of a convulsant dose of pilocarpine at P34. There were no differences between groups in water maze performance before the seizure. One week after status epilepticus (P41-P44), animals that had received the control diet prenatally had a drastically impaired performance in the water maze during the 4 d testing period, whereas prenatally choline-supplemented rats showed no impairment. Neither the seizures nor the prenatal availability of choline had any effect on hippocampal choline acetyltransferase or acetylcholinesterase activities. This study demonstrates that prenatal choline supplementation can protect rats against memory deficits induced by status epilepticus.

Key words: pilocarpine; water maze; hippocampus; epilepsy; seizures; learning; behavior

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Copyright © 0000 Society for Neuroscience  0270-6474/00/$05.00/0

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