Caffeine sensitivity in the neonatal rat.
The motoric activity of infant rats at 1, 10 and 15 days of age was determined following treatment with caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant. At all three ages responses to increasing caffeine dosage described a curvilinear function in which activity first increased and then decreased. These results show that the basic adult response pattern to caffeine is exhibited by infants as young as 1 day of age. However, 1-day-old rats were less sensitive to caffeine than the 10- and 15-day-old pups. Their maximal activity was reached at the 80 mg/kg dose while 10- and 15-day-old rats were most active in the 20--40 mg/kg dose range. These results contribute to the growing body of evidence that the neonatal rat can be used to assess the behavioral effects of exposure to environmental agents during development.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D009115:Muridae
D002110:Caffeine