Effects of perinatal diazepam exposure on the sexually dimorphic rat locus coeruleus.
Diazepam (DZ) administration over prenatal, postnatal, and pre plus postnatal periods altered the normal expression of the morphological sex differences of the LC. Males were affected only by the prenatal exposure and the effect of this exposure produced an increase in the volume and neuron number of male's LC. By contrast, females were affected by both pre and postnatal treatments and the effect of this exposure resulted in a decrease in the volume and neuron number of female's LC. However, pre plus postnatal treatment did not affect female's LC.
Departamento de Psicobiología, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, Spain.
M
M
Rodriguez-Zafra
M R
MR
De Blas
C
C
Perez-Laso
J M
JM
Cales
A
A
Guillamon
S
S
Segovia
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000254:growth & development*; D002452:Cell Count / Q000187:drug effects; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D008125:Locus Coeruleus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects
D003975:Diazepam