Neurotoxicity of is markedly enhanced in developing rat central nervous system

The neurotoxic lesion produced by direct injection of 25 nmol of (NMDA) into the corpus striatum of 7-day-old rats was compared to the effects of injecting 75 nmol into the striatum or hippocampus of adults. The area of histopathology in the immature striatum was 21 x larger than the striatal lesions in adults. Damage from NMDA injected into the immature striatum also extended into the dorsal hippocampus and produced an area of destruction which was 16 x larger than observed after direct injection into the adult hippocampus. Several studies have implicated excessive receptor activation in the pathogenesis of hypopoxic-ischemic and hypoglycemic injury and our results suggest that this neurotoxic mechanism is extremely active in the immature brain.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27174/1/0000171.pd