Impairment of conditioned active avoidance in adult rats given corticosterone in infancy.
Intensive corticosterone treatment given to rats during the 1st postnatal week irreversibly decreases DNA accumulation in the cerebrum and cerebellum. After such hypercorticism in infancy rats were tested as adults in 2 conditioned active avoidance tasks. In comparison with litter-mate controls, the treated rats were impaired in the acquisition of 2-way active avoidance but not in the acquisition of 1-way active avoidance. These data are consistent with other observations suggesting a hyperresponsiveness or hyperemotionality following corticosterone treatment in infancy.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000254:growth & development*; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects
D001786:Blood Glucose; D004247:DNA; D003345:Corticosterone