L Ricceri — Page 2 | Search PubMed

PubMed1993

Postnatal cocaine exposure affects neonatal passive avoidance performance and cholinergic development in rats.

Wistar rat pups received either cocaine HCl (25 mg/kg) or saline (0.9% NaCl) SC from postnatal days 1-11. On days 12 (acquisition) and 13 (retention), they underwent a passive avoidance task (step-off response; grid foot-shock at 0.35 mA). Slight deficits were found in cocaine-treated subjects for latency to step-off during acquisition and for generalized increase in the number of trials to criterion in retention. On postnatal day 13, the level of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) enzymatic activity and the distribution of ChAT neuronal immunoreactivity in forebrain structures were examined. These morphometric and biochemical studies demonstrate a decrease of cholinergic enzymes in the septum, while the remaining basal forebrain cholinergic regions were unaffected.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Neonatal exposure to anti-nerve growth factor antibodies affects exploratory behavior of developing mice in the hole board.

The aim of this study was to assess in developing mice whether the neutralization of endogenous NGF following ICV administration of anti-NGF antibodies (50 micrograms/2 microliters) on postnatal days 3, 6, 9, and 12 affected locomotor activity, exploratory behavior, and response to the cholinergic blocker scopolamine. In Experiments 1 and 2 activity and age-typical scopolamine effects were evaluated on PND 13 or 17 in an automated apparatus. No significant main effect of anti-NGF treatment was found at either age. On day 13 scopolamine (0.2, 1, or 2 mg/kg) decreased locomotion in both anti-NGF and control animals. In Experiment 3, locomotion and exploratory behavior were analyzed in an open field arena or in a hole board apparatus on PND 16. No significant effects of anti-NGF treatment on general motor activity and investigation of a novel object in the open field was found, though anti-NGF animals tended to be less active than controls. In the hole board anti-NGF pups showed a different pattern of head dipping behavior from controls, exploring mainly the holes located in the periphery of the apparatus.

Animals↗