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Synaptogenesis and the Formation of Benzodiazepine Receptors in the Human Brain in Conditions of Prenatal Alcoholization

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The aim of the present work was to study the relationship between the development of synaptic contacts and benzodiazepine receptors (functionally associated with the brain GABAergic system) in the brains of embryos and fetuses aged 8–15 weeks obtained from alcoholic female patients. Materials from 33 women with grade II alcoholism (ICD-10 F10.201 and F10.202) and 30 control women were studied. In contrast to controls, brain cells developing in conditions of prenatal alcoholization showed slowed formation of synaptic benzodiazepine receptors and increases in their density. These are interpreted as compensatory reactions promoting adaptation of the fetal nervous system to the effects of alcohol and functional deficiency of the GABAergic system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurobiology Laboratory, Research Institute of Mental Health, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Tomsk, Russia

    T. V. Shushpanova & A. V. Solonskii

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  1. T. V. Shushpanova
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  2. A. V. Solonskii
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Correspondence to T. V. Shushpanova.

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Translated from Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S. S. Korsakova, Vol. 112, No. 1, pp. 60–67, January, 2012.

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Shushpanova, T.V., Solonskii, A.V. Synaptogenesis and the Formation of Benzodiazepine Receptors in the Human Brain in Conditions of Prenatal Alcoholization. Neurosci Behav Physi 43, 423–430 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-013-9749-5

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