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Objective: Thiamine (vitamin B1) is an essential nutrient that acts as a cofactor for many enzymes, especially in the mitochondria. Some thiamine-linked enzymes participate in energy metabolism and the biosynthesis of nucleic acids, while others act as part of the antioxidant mechanism. As the brain is heavily dependent on mitochondrial ATP production, it is highly vulnerable to thiamine deficiency (TD). This effect is more pronounced in prenatal and childhood periods when rapid growth occurs. In this study, behavioral changes in adulthood of TD-induced rats during prenatal and lactation periods were investigated. Methods: In the study, rats were divided into two groups as the group whose mothers were fed a normal diet (NN) and the mothers were fed with thiamine deficient diet (TN) during prenatal and lactation periods. Open Field test, Elevated Plus Maze test and New Object Recognition tests were applied to rats in adulthood. Results: In the thiamine deficient TN group, it was observed that the number of frames entered in the open field test and the rate of time spent in the outer quadrant increased. In addition, in the elevated plus maze test, the ratio of time spent in the open arm in the TN group was decreased. In the new object recognition test, it was determined that the discrimination index was decreased in the TN group. Conclusion: In our study, it was observed that the effects of TD during prenatal and lactation periods can continue in the long term and cause behavioral, learning and memory deficits in the later ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Thiamine deficiency (TD) during the developmental period is a very rare condition in the developed countries but it is becoming more frequent worldwide because of worsened socioeconomic status in some communities. Thiamine has many metabolic and structural functions in the brain especially in the developmental period. Postnatal TD may cause long-lasting effects in the brain. Chronic TD causes hearning deficit but the effects of postnatal TD to the central auditory processing during adulthood have not been investigated sufficiently. The loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) provides a well established marker of the central serotonin activity. Besides, paired-click responses (PRs) are associated with glutamatergic/ GABAergic transmission. İnvestigating these responses and underlying oscillations that reflect the neuronal correlate of auditory processing provides important information about auditory changes due to TD condition. Methods: Rats were divided into two groups as follows; Control whose dams fed with normal diet (C), thiamine deficient whose dams fed with thiamine_deficient diet during postnatal period (TD). In adulthood, we recorded AEPs and PRs and analyzed LDAEP, components and spectral changes to unravel the network alterations. Results: The N1/P2 responses for two loadest stimulus were significantly increased in the TD group versus the C group. In parallel, higher LDAEP value was obtained in the TD group. As gamma level was significantly attenuated in the TD group, elevated theta/alpha response was observed in the TD group compared with the C group. For PRs, higher N1 response to second stimuli and lower suppression rate detected in the TD group. Concomitant increment of theta responses to second stimuli was observed in the TD group. Conclusion: Postnatal TD causes degenerative changes with long-term implications observed in auditory network dynamics which could be partly explained by altered serotonergic and glutamatergic/GABAergic transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]