High-dose Caffeine Intrauterine Exposure Altered Neuronal Morphology and Spatial Distribution in Murine Models Cerebral Cortex

Caffeine is a neurostimulant that is globally consumed with little or no restrictions by various groups of people. Though concerns have been raised over the possible effects of caffeine exposure during intrauterine life or pregnancy; there are not enough empirical evidences to establish the specific potential effects of caffeine exposure on the devolvement and the functions of the brain. The current investigation examined the possible effects of caffeine exposure at various dosages modelled after human consumption quantities in murine models. The experimental animals- pregnant mice, were grouped into four and labelled A, B, C and D respectively. Anhydrous caffeine was dissolved in distilled water and administered to animals daily using oral gavages. The Control Group was labelled A and the pregnant mice were fed ad libitum throughout the experiment to serve as the reference and normal in the context of results interpretation; the Group B animals were administered the moderate caffeine dosage [10 mg/kg body weight]; Group C received moderately high dosage [50 mg/kg body weight] and the Group D received the excessively high caffeine dosage [120 mg/kg body weight] throughout pregnancy- from the day 1 of pregnancy to parturition. The mice litters were allowed to develop until Day 12 Postnatal life, and then sacrificed. The brain tissues were excised and processed using the Haematoxylin and Eosin histological technique. Histomorphological results showed that caffeine exposure at the excessively high dosage altered neuronal morphology and spatial distribution with evidence of limitations in dendritic and axonal development and elaboration. Caffeine at the lower dosages showed potentials to mildly influence neuronal spatial distribution; with glias not showing extensive morphological or spatial alterations.