Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure in rats causes persistent behavioral alterations.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Levin, ED; Addy, N; Baruah, A; Elias, A; Christopher, NC; Seidler, FJ; Slotkin, TA
Published in: Neurotoxicol Teratol
2002

Use of chlorpyrifos (CPF) has been curtailed due to its developmental neurotoxicity. In rats, postnatal CPF administration produces lasting changes in cognitive performance, but less information is available about the effects of prenatal exposure. We administered CPF to pregnant rats on gestational days (GD) 17-20, a peak period of neurogenesis, using doses (1 or 5 mg/kg/day) below the threshold for fetal growth impairment. We then evaluated performance in the T-maze, Figure-8 apparatus and 16-arm radial maze, beginning in adolescence and continuing into adulthood. CPF elicited initial locomotor hyperactivity in the T-maze. Females showed slower habituation in the Fig. 8 maze; no effects were seen in males. In the radial-arm maze, females showed impaired choice accuracy for both working and reference memory and again, males were unaffected. Despite the deficits, all animals eventually learned the maze with continued training. At that point, we challenged them with the muscarinic antagonist, scopolamine, to determine the dependence of behavioral performance on cholinergic function. Whereas control females showed impairment with scopolamine, CPF-exposed females did not, implying that the delayed acquisition of the task had been accomplished through alternative mechanisms. The differences were specific to muscarinic circuits, as control and CPF groups responded similarly to the nicotinic antagonist, mecamylamine. Surprisingly, adverse effects of CPF were greater in the group receiving 1 mg/kg as compared to 5 mg/kg. Promotional effects of acetylcholine (ACh) on cell differentiation may thus help to offset CPF-induced developmental damage that occurs through other noncholinergic mechanisms. Our results indicate that late prenatal exposure to CPF induces long-term changes in cognitive performance that are distinctly gender-selective. Additional defects may be revealed by similar strategies that subject the animals to acute challenges, thus, uncovering the adaptive mechanisms that maintain basal performance.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Neurotoxicol Teratol

DOI

ISSN

0892-0362

Publication Date

2002

Volume

24

Issue

6

Start / End Page

733 / 741

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Toxicology
  • Sex Characteristics
  • Scopolamine
  • Receptors, Muscarinic
  • Reaction Time
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Rats
  • Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
  • Pregnancy
  • Muscarinic Antagonists
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Levin, E. D., Addy, N., Baruah, A., Elias, A., Christopher, N. C., Seidler, F. J., & Slotkin, T. A. (2002). Prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure in rats causes persistent behavioral alterations. Neurotoxicol Teratol, 24(6), 733–741. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0892-0362(02)00272-6
Levin, Edward D., Nii Addy, Avanti Baruah, Alana Elias, N Channelle Christopher, Frederic J. Seidler, and Theodore A. Slotkin. “Prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure in rats causes persistent behavioral alterations.Neurotoxicol Teratol 24, no. 6 (2002): 733–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0892-0362(02)00272-6.
Levin ED, Addy N, Baruah A, Elias A, Christopher NC, Seidler FJ, et al. Prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure in rats causes persistent behavioral alterations. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2002;24(6):733–41.
Levin, Edward D., et al. “Prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure in rats causes persistent behavioral alterations.Neurotoxicol Teratol, vol. 24, no. 6, 2002, pp. 733–41. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/s0892-0362(02)00272-6.
Levin ED, Addy N, Baruah A, Elias A, Christopher NC, Seidler FJ, Slotkin TA. Prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure in rats causes persistent behavioral alterations. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2002;24(6):733–741.
Journal cover image

Published In

Neurotoxicol Teratol

DOI

ISSN

0892-0362

Publication Date

2002

Volume

24

Issue

6

Start / End Page

733 / 741

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Toxicology
  • Sex Characteristics
  • Scopolamine
  • Receptors, Muscarinic
  • Reaction Time
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Rats
  • Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
  • Pregnancy
  • Muscarinic Antagonists