title: Effects of aluminum exposure on behavioral parameters in the rat.
abstract: Adult rats were treated by intraperitoneal injection of aluminum gluconate for 3 months. Rats were submitted to the radial maze test to determine the influence of chronic aluminum intoxication on cognitive and noncognitive behavioral processes. Both learning abilities (working memory and reference memory) and rapidity (time spent to respond and to master a trial) were analyzed. Aluminum concentration was evaluated in the brain, serum, and liver to assess aluminum body burden. While hippocampus and neocortex showed a significant increase in aluminum concentration, aluminum treatment did never affect the animal's performance during cue learning or when the insert cues were removed. The only behavioral difference observed was a decrease in rapidity: both the total time to finish a trial and the latency to make the first choice were lengthened in aluminum-intoxicated rats.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Animale, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Struys-Ponsar
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kerkhofs
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gauthier
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soffié
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van den Bosch de Aguilar
mesh_terms: D017607:Aluminum Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D017607:Aluminum Compounds