title: Neonatal exposure to anti-nerve growth factor antibodies affects exploratory behavior of developing mice in the hole board.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess in developing mice whether the neutralization of endogenous NGF following ICV administration of anti-NGF antibodies (50 micrograms/2 microliters) on postnatal days 3, 6, 9, and 12 affected locomotor activity, exploratory behavior, and response to the cholinergic blocker scopolamine. In Experiments 1 and 2 activity and age-typical scopolamine effects were evaluated on PND 13 or 17 in an automated apparatus. No significant main effect of anti-NGF treatment was found at either age. On day 13 scopolamine (0.2, 1, or 2 mg/kg) decreased locomotion in both anti-NGF and control animals. In Experiment 3, locomotion and exploratory behavior were analyzed in an open field arena or in a hole board apparatus on PND 16. No significant effects of anti-NGF treatment on general motor activity and investigation of a novel object in the open field was found, though anti-NGF animals tended to be less active than controls. In the hole board anti-NGF pups showed a different pattern of head dipping behavior from controls, exploring mainly the holes located in the periphery of the apparatus.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Fisiopatologia O. S., Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calamandrei
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pennazza
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricceri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valanzano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D000906:Antibodies / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000502:physiology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D012601:Scopolamine