title: Prenatal irradiation and spatial memory in mice: investigation of dose-response relationship.
abstract: Pregnant CD1 mice were exposed on gestational day 18 to 250 kV X-rays at 0.1, 0.25, 0.35 and 0.5 Gy. The performances of 10 adult male offspring from each exposure condition were investigated on a spatial discrimination learning task in a radial arm maze. An impairment in the performance of this task was found which showed a correlation with dose. Compared with sham exposed control mice, performance was not significantly affected with irradiation at 0.1 Gy and was slightly but non-significantly reduced at 0.25 Gy. Irradiation at 0.35 Gy caused a significant impairment in performance, and exposure at 0.5 Gy resulted in a still larger impairment. The overall association between dose and behavioural impairment was best described by a linear relationship without a threshold, although at doses lower than about 0.25 Gy any impairment would appear to be too small to be detectable.
authors.affiliation: National Radiological Protection Board, Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK.
authors.forename: Z J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Sienkiewicz
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Haylock
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Saunders
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D007858:Learning / Q000528:radiation effects; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000528:radiation effects*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008954:Models, Biological; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D013037:Spatial Behavior; D014916:Whole-Body Irradiation