title: Perinatal asphyxia, hyperthermia and hyperferremia as factors inducing behavioural disturbances in adulthood: a rat model.
abstract: Alertness was studied in adult male Wistar rats after neonatal critical anoxia applied under three different thermal conditions: (i) at physiological neonatal body temperature of 33 degrees C, (ii) at body temperature elevated to 37 degrees C, and (iii) at body temperature elevated to 39 degrees C (both during anoxia and for 2 h postanoxia). To elucidate the effect of iron-dependent postanoxic oxidative damage to the brain, half of the group (iii) was injected with deferoxamine, a chelator of iron. Postanoxic behavioural disturbances were recorded in open-field, elevated plus-maze, and sudden silence tests when the rats reached the age of 4 month. Moreover, spontaneous motor activity of the rats was recorded radiotelemetrically in their home-cages. Both open-field stress-induced and spontaneous motor activity were reduced in rats subjected to neonatal anoxia under hyperthermic conditions. In contrast, these rats were hyperactive in the plus-maze test. Both the plus-maze and sudden silence tests revealed that these rats show reduced alertness to external stimuli signalling potential dangers. The behavioural disturbances were prevented by the body temperature of 33 degrees C and by postanoxic administration of deferoxamine. These data support the conclusion that permanent postanoxic behavioural disturbances are due to iron-dependent oxidative damage to the brain, which can be prevented by the reduced neonatal body temperature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of General and Molecular Biology, N. Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland. caputa@biol.uni.torun.pl
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caputa
authors.forename: Justyna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rogalska
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wentowska
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nowakowska
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000150:complications*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003676:Deferoxamine / Q000633:toxicity*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000150:complications*; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000209:etiology; D007502:Iron Chelating Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013686:Telemetry / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D007502:Iron Chelating Agents; D003676:Deferoxamine