Effects of postnatal lead exposure on open field behavior in monkeys.
Nursery-reared rhesus monkeys were treated with either no lead or moderate levels of lead from day eight or nine until day 365 after birth. All subjects were at or below 5 micrograms/dl blood lead levels for at least 1.5 years by the time of the present study conducted at 4 years of age. Data were collected in a primate version of the open field test which proved sensitive to several behavioral alterations in the lead-treated monkeys. These significant differences included a failure to habituate as evidenced by number of sectors entered, increased durations of activity and environmental exploration, and a longer latency to enter the open field. Most of these effects were compatible with a hypothesis of hippocampal dysfunction in the lead-treated monkeys and appeared to indicate enduring lead-induced alterations. These results provide further support for a correlation between early lead exposure and hippocampal dysfunction. Additionally, the utility of a primate version of the open field test for behavioral toxicological studies is substantiated.
Ferguson
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SA
Harlow Primate Laboratory, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53715.
Bowman
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RE
D000818:Animals; D003672:Defecation / Q000187:drug effects; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D014554:Urination / Q000187:drug effects; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000187:drug effects
D007854:Lead