title: The effect of haloperidol on maternal behavior in WAG/Rij rats and its consequences in the offspring.
abstract: Haloperidol treatment during pre- and post-natal period affects maternal behavior and this may have long-term effects on the offspring. We examined whether early haloperidol administration to Wistar-Albino-Glaxo dams from Rijswijk (WAG/Rij) and in Wistar control rats would affect maternal care and as a consequence, seizure susceptibility and behavior in the WAG/Rij's offspring at 3-4 months of age. Nursing dams of this well-validated genetic animal model of absence epilepsy and control dams were injected with haloperidol or saline at PPD 1 to 6. Maternal behavior was evaluated at PPD 7 to 9. Haloperidol-injected WAG/Rij dams showed more pup carryings compared with saline-injected mothers, this effect was not noticed in control Wistar dams. The offspring of haloperidol-treated WAG/Rij dams, tested during adulthood, showed heightened behavioral activity (time spent into the open arms, head dips) in the elevated plus-maze, as well as shorter spike-wave discharges (SWD) as measured in their electroencephalographic activity compared with saline-treated rats. Overall, it can be concluded that deviancies in the DA system as induced by haloperidol facilitates pup carrying/retrieval behavior in WAG/Rij rats and reduces seizure activity of the offspring in adulthood. Therefore, inter-individual differences in seizure properties and behavior in genetically predisposed animals may be due to differences in maternal behavior of the dams.
authors: Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Learning, Institute for Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russian Federation. julkadobr@gmail.com.
authors: Yulia V
authors: YV
authors: Dobryakova
authors: Vyacheslav A
authors: VA
authors: Dubynin
authors: Gilles van
authors: GV
authors: Luijtelaar
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D018726:Anti-Dyskinesia Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D058256:Brain Waves / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004832:Epilepsy, Absence / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D018726:Anti-Dyskinesia Agents; D006220:Haloperidol