Objective To investigate the effects of prenatal exposure to decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) on learning and memory as well as locomotor activity in rat offspring.
Methods Pregnant SD rats were randomly treated with BDE-209 (100, 300, and 900 mg/kg) or corn oil on gestational days 6-20. Behavioral performances of all the groups were evaluated by open field test and Morris water maze test.
Results 1) In the open field test, no significant difference in travelled distance was found among all the groups (female offspring, F=2.13, P>0.05; male offspring, F=0.70, P>0.05). 2) In the hidden platform trials of Morris water maze experiment, the latency periods were significantly prolonged in the female offspring prenatally administered with 300 mg/kg and 900 mg/kg BDE-209 compared to the controls (P< 0.01), but no significant difference was observed in the male offspring (P>0.05). The results of probe trails showed that the male offspring presented statistically significant changes in the time spent in targeted quadrant (F=4.17, P< 0.01); compared to the controls, the 100 mg/kg and the 300 mg/kg male offspring groups showed significantly decreased time spent in targeted quadrant, but no significant difference was observed among the female offspring groups (P>0.05).
Conclusion Prenatal exposure to decabromodiphenyl ether may cause spatial learning and memory impairments in female rat offspring, and no changes in locomotor activity was observed in both genders.
DownLoad: