Prenatal morphine exposure alters N-methyl-D-aspartate- and kainate-induced seizures in adult male rats.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether prenatal exposure to morphine has effects on excitatory amino acid-induced seizures. Adult male rats, exposed on embryonic days 11-18 to saline or morphine, were injected with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) (150, 175, 200, 225, and 250 mg/kg) or kainic acid (KA) (15 or 20 mg/kg) in adulthood to assess the occurrence and latency to onset of stereotypy and seizures. The latency to onset of stereotypy was significantly increased after 175 mg/kg, and decreased after 200 mg/kg of NMDA in morphine-exposed animals. The lowest dose of NMDA (150 mg/kg) induced seizures in prenatally saline-treated control male rats but not in the morphine-exposed male rats. In the KA-injected group, prenatally morphine-exposed males had shorter latency to onset of wet-dog shakes, but there were no effects on the latency to onset of clonic seizures. The data suggest that prenatal morphine exposure has long-term effects on seizure susceptibility and the onset of stereotypy in the excitatory amino acid-induced seizure models.
Slamberová
R
R
Department of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Velísek
L
L
Vathy
I
I
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects*; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009020:Morphine / Q000633:toxicity*; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009294:Narcotics / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D012640:Seizures / Q000139:chemically induced*
D009294:Narcotics; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D009020:Morphine; D007608:Kainic Acid