The Comparative Analysis of Motor and Spatial Learning Dynamics in Animals That Survived Prenatal Hypoxia

The data of modern neurobiology indicates a critical dependence of the nervous system formation upon the conditions of intrauterine development. Pregnancy, childbirth and the early postnatal period are of key importance for normal maturation of the nervous system. The developing fetus is especially vulnerable to the effects of adverse external and internal factors in periods of brain and neuronal structures’ morphological differentiation, during childbirth, and the transition to independent breathing. Fetal and/or newborn hypoxia is considered one of the main causes of disorders in brain development, manifested later in the form of cognitive impairments, problems with learning, memory and attention, social interactions, movements, and emotions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of prenatal hypoxia, suffered in periods critical for brain development and maturation, on the ability of white rats for motor and spatial learning. It was shown that males that survived acute late gestational hypoxia turned out to be more sensitive to its effects, demonstrating at the age of 1 month both a deficit in learning, reproduction and maintainance of motor skills, and a failure in solving a cognitive task in a T-shaped maze. At the same time, acute hypoxia of the early organogenesis period had hardly any effect on the ability of peripubertal animals for motor and spatial learning. Therefore, comprehensive testing allows one to assess the effects of hypoxic brain damage more completely, which is important for early diagnosis and the development of rehabilitation programs.