Undernutrition and cerebellar development

This study showed that the vermis is the primary area of the cerebellum affected, and the reductions in the ver Mis wet weight, DNA, and protein content in brains of infant rats were persistent in rehabilitated adult animals.

Abstract

Undernutrition has previously been shown to affect the cerebellum to a greater extent than the remainder of the brain. This study showed that the vermis is the primary area of the cerebellum affected. In contrast to the deficits in the cerebellar hemispheres, the reductions in the vermis wet weight, DNA, and protein content in brains of infant rats were persistent in rehabilitated adult animals. In 20-day-old malnourished rats, microscopic studies of the vermis showed increased density of Purkinje cells and internal granule cells and a disproportionately greater reduction in the size of the molecular layer compared to the internal granule cell layer. In rehabilitated adult rats, the increased density of Purkinje cells remained, but the size of the molecular layer compared to the internal granule cell layer was not different.