title: Neonatal exposure to fenoterol and betamethasone: effects on the behavioral development in the rat.
abstract: We investigated longitudinally the behavioral development in the rat following exposure to beta-agonists and glucocorticoids (GC). Neonatal rats received either 1 mg/kg fenoterol (FEN), 0.3 mg/kg betamethasone (BET), or saline (SAL). Weanling and young adult rats were tested in the open field, the elevated-plus maze, and the water maze. FEN-treated as well as BET-treated animals displayed increased anxiety-like behavior. Furthermore, BET-treated adult animals showed a reduced locomotor activity. An enhanced 24-h memory in the water maze in both treatment groups may be facilitated by emotional arousal due to the increased anxiety levels. The possible neurobiological underpinnings are discussed in detail.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany. pitzer@zi-mannheim.de
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pitzer
authors.forename: Martin H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists / Q000633:toxicity*; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D001623:Betamethasone / Q000633:toxicity*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005280:Fenoterol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D005280:Fenoterol; D001623:Betamethasone