title: Postnatal cocaine exposure affects neonatal passive avoidance performance and cholinergic development in rats.
abstract: Wistar rat pups received either cocaine HCl (25 mg/kg) or saline (0.9% NaCl) SC from postnatal days 1-11. On days 12 (acquisition) and 13 (retention), they underwent a passive avoidance task (step-off response; grid foot-shock at 0.35 mA). Slight deficits were found in cocaine-treated subjects for latency to step-off during acquisition and for generalized increase in the number of trials to criterion in retention. On postnatal day 13, the level of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) enzymatic activity and the distribution of ChAT neuronal immunoreactivity in forebrain structures were examined. These morphometric and biochemical studies demonstrate a decrease of cholinergic enzymes in the septum, while the remaining basal forebrain cholinergic regions were unaffected.
authors.affiliation: Section of Behavioral Pathophysiology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricceri
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tirassa
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aloe
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alleva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D002799:Cholinergic Fibers / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D003042:Cocaine / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000201:enzymology; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D003042:Cocaine