Effects of prenatal diazepam on two-way avoidance behavior, swimming navigation and brain levels of benzodiazepine-like molecules in male Roman high- and low-avoidance rats.
Utilizing psychogenetically selected Roman high- and low-avoidance rats (RHA/Verh and RLA/Verh), the present experiments investigated the effects of prenatally administered vehicle and diazepam (1 and 3 mg/kg per day, SC) on the behavior and neurochemistry of adult, male offspring. Active, two-way avoidance behavior was analyzed in 96 rats, at 6 months of age, and swimming navigation in 68 others, at 11 months. Three weeks after testing, selected brain areas from the latter animals were immunoassayed for benzodiazepine (BZD)-like molecules. The 3 mg/kg dose of diazepam both decreased freezing behavior in the shuttle box and reduced the hippocampal content of BZD-like molecules in the RLA/Verh male rats. Swimming navigation (spatial learning), at which the RLA/Verh rats were more adept, was not specifically affected by prenatal diazepam in either rat line. The possibility exists that an increased hippocampal release of BZD-like substances may be necessary to alter shuttle box behavior in RLA/Verh rats.
Driscoll
P
P
Institut für Nutztierwissenschaften, ETH-Zentrum, Zürich, Switzerland.
Ferré
P
P
Fernández-Teruel
A
A
Levi de Stein
M
M
Wolfman
C
C
Medina
J
J
Tobeña
A
A
Escorihuela
R M
RM
D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005824:Genetics, Behavioral / Q000187:drug effects; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats
D003975:Diazepam