Recent clinical neuroimaging studies have revealed the possible relation between morphological brain changes, and memory,
cognitive impairment in the course of
alcoholism and depression. In the previous studies, we have been analyzing the mechanism of neural network disruption by
ethanol using postmortem human brain and cultured cells, and identified the sensitive effect of
ethanol on the neural stem cell (NSC) differentiation rather than the influence on neuronal cell survival. Furthermore, to develop a novel method for reconstruction of the neural network damaged by
ethanol, we tried to analyze the usefulness of intravenous NSC
transplantation in
fetal alcohol syndrome spectrum disorder (
FASD) model rats. In the in vitro studies, we have found the suppressive effect of
ethanol on NSC differentiation to neurons, through alteration of
transcription factor, CREB and NRSF/REST activities, by the cellular signaling cascade changes including trophic factors and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) function. In the in vivo studies, we have shown the effective migration of labeled NSCs into the brain of
FASD model rats, and revealed the therapeutic potential of this
transplantation for the treatment of anxiety/
cognitive dysfunction and behavioral abnormalities in alcohol-induced brain neural network damage. We are going to the next step for analysis of transplanted NSC dynamics in the brain, which must play a pivotal role in the effective induction of behavioral recoveries.