Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder affecting children and adults. Genetic and environmental factors are associated with the etiology of ADHD. Among the environmental factors, exposure of the developing brain to nicotine is considered a major risk factor. Recent evidence suggests that environmental influences on the brain and behavior may be transmitted from one generation to the next. We used a prenatal nicotine exposure (PNE) mouse model of ADHD to test the hypothesis that PNE-induced hyperactivity, a proxy for human ADHD phenotype, is transmitted from one generation to the next. Our data reveal transgenerational transmission of PNE-induced hyperactivity in mice via the maternal but not the paternal line of descent. We suggest that transgenerational transmission is a plausible mechanism for propagation of environmentally induced ADHD phenotypes in the population.

作者：Jinmin, Zhu；Kevin P, Lee；Thomas J, Spencer；Joseph, Biederman；Pradeep G, Bhide

来源：The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2014 年 34卷 8期