Cortical spreading depression is a neural phenomenon present in several animal species. Spreading depression features, like velocity of propagation, depends on several chemical and metabolic factors, as for example, anti-oxidants. Here we studied spreading depression-velocity changes in weaned rat-pups born from dams treated on a daily basis, either during gestation or lactation, with a carotenoid ethanolic extract (30 microg/kg/day) prepared from shrimp waste (heads). These pups were compared with age-mated ones, whose mothers were treated either with the vehicle (ethanol) or with distilled water. Compared to the distilled water-group (mean values, in mm/min, per hour of recording ranging from 3.02+/-0.26 to 3.15+/-0.27 [treatment during gestation; n=7], and from 3.03+/-0.25 to 3.22+/-0.30 [lactation; n=11]), ethanol-treated rats displayed higher spreading depression-velocities (from 3.74+/-0.06 to 3.82+/-0.08 [gestation; n=7], and from 4.26+/-0.32 to 4.33+/-0.34 [lactation; n=11]; p<0.05). Compared to the ethanol-group, carotenoid-treatment lead to lower spreading depression-velocities (p<0.05), ranging from 3.38+/-0.09 to 3.42+/-0.12, n=7 (gestation) and 3.58+/-0.13 to 3.62+/-0.17, n=12 (lactation). Carotenoid-treatment during lactation was shown to be significantly more effective than that during gestation (p<0.05), in lowering spreading depression-velocity. The results suggest a protective action of shrimp carotenoids against the ethanol effects on spreading depression. This protective effect could be related to the carotenoid antioxidant properties, as previously indicated by evidence showing spreading depression-effects of other antioxidants.