title: Perinatal exposure to lead and cadmium affects anxiety-like behaviour.
abstract: The present study examines the effects of early simultaneous exposure to low level of lead and cadmium on anxiety-like behaviour in the rat, and on monoamine levels in the hypothalamus and hippocampus at weaning and adult animals. Rats were intoxicated with cadmium acetate (10 mg/l) and lead acetate (300 mg/l) in drinking water from the beginning of pregnancy until weaning. Maternal co-exposure to lead and cadmium produced mainly alterations in dopaminergic and serotoninergic systems of hippocampus in both age studied, while noradrenaline content in hypothalamus and hippocampus remained unchanged at 75 days of age. The intoxicated rats showed an increased on indices of anxiety on the elevated plus-maze. These long-term changes in anxiety-like behaviour can be related to dopaminergic and serotoninergic alterations detected in hippocampus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biology-II (Animal Physiology), Faculty of Biological Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid 28040, Spain. mlleret@bio.ucm.es
authors.forename: M Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Leret
authors.forename: Jose Antonio San
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Millán
authors.forename: M Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Antonio
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000139:chemically induced*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D015306:Biogenic Monoamines / Q000378:metabolism; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D007774:Lactation; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D015306:Biogenic Monoamines; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D002104:Cadmium; C028031:cadmium acetate; C008261:lead acetate