title: Neonatal exposure to chlorpyrifos affects maternal responses and maternal aggression of female mice in adulthood.
abstract: CD-1 mice were exposed to the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) throughout postnatal days (PND) 11-14 at the subtoxic dose of 3 mg/kg. At adolescent age, females and males underwent a sociability test in which level of sociability and social preference were measured. At adulthood only females' behavior was analyzed. Maternal behavior of CPF-exposed females was assessed on postpartum day 1 after removal of the pups for 1 h, while anxiety levels were measured in a 5 min dark-light test on postpartum day 2. Nest defense response to an unfamiliar male intruder was assessed on postpartum day 7. In addition, from birth to postpartum day 7 a detailed analysis of nest building activity was carried out. Neonatal CPF exposure does not interfere with social behavior and social preferences at adolescence, whereas at adulthood it induces significant behavioral alterations in lactating females. Motivation to build and defend the nest was decreased in CPF females that were also less anxious than controls in the dark-light paradigm. These results confirm that developmental exposure to CPF induces long-lasting alterations in selected sexual-dimorphic responses of the adult social repertoire, and suggest that early exposure to CPF might interfere with hypothalamic neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating social responses.
authors.affiliation: Section of Neurotoxicology and Neuroendocrinology, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Aldina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Venerosi
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cutuli
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Colonnello
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cardona
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricceri
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calamandrei
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001007:Anxiety / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D004390:Chlorpyrifos / Q000633:toxicity*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D012919:Social Behavior
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D004390:Chlorpyrifos