Changes in Frontocortical Function Originating During Brain Development in the Rat.

早期的大脑发育是一个高度动态的时期，在这个时期，大脑的化学、电路和结构都处于变化之中

Early brain development is a highly dynamic period in which brain chemistry, circuitry and structure are undergoing massive change in a carefully orchestrated temporal sequence that is only partly understood. Changes occurring during brain development are guided not only by genetics but are also activity-dependent. Abnormalities in both physical form and function due to environmental and chemically induced changes in brain development are well characterized, but it is becoming increasingly clear that many changes in brain development do not manifest immediately, but rather, emerge later in life in response to stressors or cognitive challenge. Understanding this neuro-developmental "priming" of CNS vulnerability, both how it occurs and how it is expressed, is critical to explaining variability in adult behaviour including learning, memory and executive function. The experiments proposed herein are designed to further our understanding of long-term changes in brain function resulting from neonatal intervention. We will utilize a chemical-induction model to explore changes in simple and complex cognitive function that can be linked to changes in dopaminergic function in the prefrontal cortex regions. These investigations will build on previously published NSERC-funded foundational studies of the effect of early life chemical intervention on subsequent changes in behavioural expression, including the increasingly interesting phenomenon of "vulnerability priming" of the CNS in relation to both adult cognition and cortical circuitry.