title: Perinatal maternal exposure to picrotoxin: effects on sexual behavior in female rat offspring.
abstract: A previous study in our laboratory showed that perinatal maternal picrotoxin exposure (0.75 mg/kg) in rats improved heterosexual behavior in male offspring. In the present study, we examined the effects of this maternal treatment on sexual behavior in the female offspring. The dams received 0.75 mg/kg picrotoxin treatment (PT) once a day on the 18th and 21st day of pregnancy, 2 h after parturition and once a day during the first 4 days of lactation. The results showed that (1) at birth, the body weight and anogenital distance were not modified by treatment; (2) female sexual behavior was improved in experimental animals. These results demonstrate that perinatal picrotoxin exposure improves adult sexual behavior in female rat offspring as suggested by increase in the lordosis quotient.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, CEP:05508-900, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Teodorov
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Felicio
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Varolli
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Bernardi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D005260:Female; D018756:GABA Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D007774:Lactation; D008297:Male; D010052:Ovariectomy; D010852:Picrotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011187:Posture; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012737:Sex Factors; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018756:GABA Antagonists; D010852:Picrotoxin