title: Impaired Learning and Abnormal Open-field Behaviours of Rats After Early Postnatal Anoxia and the Beneficial Effect of the Calcium Antagonist Nimodipine.
abstract: Perinatal anoxia/hypoxia is considered a serious risk factor for normal brain development. Anoxia induced by repeated asphyxia at 2 and 4 days after birth resulted in a transient hyperactivity in the small open-field, and a behavioural depression in adult open-field activity of male Wistar rats. The same treatment impaired adult learning behaviour in pole-jumping conditioned avoidance and appetitively motivated hole-board test situations. The calcium entry blocker nimodipine (in doses of 3 and 10 mg/kg) prevented the anoxia-induced changes in orientation motility in the open-field tests and almost fully antagonized the learning deficit in the hole-board test. The behavioural deficit seen during acquisition of the pole-jumping conditioned avoidance response was ameliorated to a lesser degree. The results indicate that the maintenance of calcium homeostasis during the early postnatal phase of brain development is crucial to prevent anoxia-induced behavioural abnormalities.
authors.affiliation: Central Research Division, University of Postgraduate Medicine, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: C.
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nyakas
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Markel
authors.forename: T.
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schuurman
authors.forename: P. G. M.
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Luiten