Environmental stimulation reduces learning deficits in experimental cretinism.
Behavioral deficits in adult rats exposed perinatally to thiouracil were substantially reduced or elimated by a 5-week period of "superenriched" postweaning rearing conditions before testing. This treatment resulted in remediation of hypothyroid rats' deficits in maze learning, maze retention, and resistance to extinction of bar-pressing; the facilitative effect persisted for more than 4 months. These behavioral results were consistent with neurohistological findings from studies of early thyroid deficiency and postweaning environmental stimulation in rats.
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D003409:Congenital Hypothyroidism / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004777:Environment; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D013889:Thiouracil
D013889:Thiouracil