Prenatal methylmercury exposure: effects on stress response during active learning.
The long-term impact of prenatal methylmercury (MeHg) exposure on the stress response during active learning was investigated. Pregnant rats were gavage fed MeHg (8 mg/kg) on gestational day 15. Ninety-day-old rats born to both MeHg- and saline-treated dams were subjected to an active avoidance test. The active avoidance-experienced rats (AAERs) with prenatal exposure to MeHg showed significant impairment in learning ability and exhibited higher levels of corticosterone than the untreated AAERs. The present findings suggest that the abnormal increase in plasma corticosterone levels could contribute to the poor performance of MeHg-treated AAERs in this learning task.
Carratù
Maria Rosaria
MR
Department of Pharmacology and Human Physiology, Medical School, University of Bari, Policlinico, Bari, Italy. mrc@farmacol.uniba.it
Coluccia
Addolorata
A
Modafferi
Antonella M E
AM
Borracci
Pietro
P
Scaccianoce
Sergio
S
Sakamoto
Mineshi
M
Cuomo
Vincenzo
V
D000818:Animals; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D018675:Toxicity Tests
D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D003345:Corticosterone