title: Developmental neurotoxicity following premating maternal exposure to hexachlorobenzene in rats.
abstract: The maternal transfer of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) may place the developing organism at risk. The present study assessed the developmental neurotoxicity of HCB using a battery of behavioral tests. Two weeks prior to breeding, maternal rats were exposed via gavage to either 10 or 100 mg HCB/kg body weight. Behaviors evaluated in pups exposed maternally to HCB included the negative geotaxic reflex on postnatal day (PND) 6, 8, and 10, olfactory discrimination (PND 9-11), and the development of exploratory behavior (PND 15-20). Significant effects in these three tests indicated hyperactivity in HCB-exposed pups. No significant effects on learning (swim T-maze) or motor activity were detected in older offspring (PND 40 and 50 respectively). The acoustic startle response (ASR) revealed apparent age-related effects of maternal HCB exposure. On PND 23 pups from the high treatment group demonstrated significantly reduced ASR amplitude, whereas these same animals, tested on PND 90 (using a reflex modification design), showed elevated ASR amplitude relative to the controls. This work demonstrates that HCB is a behavioral teratogen, and suggests that human fetuses and suckling infants may be at risk from the neurotoxic effects of HCB.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056.
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Goldey
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene / Q000633:toxicity*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009420:Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012018:Reflex / Q000187:drug effects; D012022:Reflex, Acoustic / Q000187:drug effects; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000187:drug effects; D012903:Smell / Q000187:drug effects; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D006581:Hexachlorobenzene