Local blood flow in the dorsal hippocampus and cerebellar cortex in the offspring of iodine-deficient rats.

Experimental studies demonstrated that hypothyroidism can lead to depressive behavior and that thyroid hormones can have antidepressant effects. Postnatal changes in local blood flow in the dorsal hippocampus and cerebellar cortex were studied in the offspring of rats kept in conditions of iodine deficiency at conception and throughout gestation. The data obtained from these studies showed that severe limitation of iodine intake before and during gestation leads to marked deficiency in the blood supply to both of these brain structures, though the decrease in local blood flow in the dorsal hippocampus was more marked. Addition of iodine to the diet of females prevented this deficit of blood flow in both structures.