ToxSci Advance Access published online on January 4, 2007
Toxicological Sciences, doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfl199
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developmental Exposure to Methylmercury Alters Learning and Induces Depression-Like Behavior in Male Mice
EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENTAL MEHG EXPOSURE
* Institute of Environmental Medicine, Division of Toxicology and Neurotoxicology, Karolinska Institutet, S171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Division of Metals and Health, Karolinska Institutet, S171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, S171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53705, USA
Correspondence to Dr. S. Ceccatelli, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Division of Toxicology and Neurotoxicology, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, S171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. Telephone: +46 8 52487586. Fax: +46 8 329041. E-mail: Sandra.Ceccatelli{at}ki.se
Received December 7, 2006; accepted December 20, 2006
 |
Abstract |
|---|
To investigate the long term effects of developmental exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) pregnant mice were dosed at 0.5 mg MeHg/kg/day via drinking water from gestational day 7 until day 7 after delivery. The behavior of offspring was monitored at 5-15 weeks and 26-36 weeks of age using an automated system (IntelliCageTM) designed for continuous long-term recording of the home cage behavior in social groups and complex analysis of basic activities and learning. In addition, spontaneous locomotion, motor coordination on the accelerating rotarod, spatial learning in Morris water maze and depression-like behavior in forced swimming test was also studied. The analysis of behavior performed in the IntelliCageTM without social deprivation occurred to be more sensitive in detecting alterations in activity and learning paradigms. We found normal motor function but decreased exploratory activity in MeHg-exposed male mice, especially at young age. Learning disturbances observed in MeHg-exposed male animals suggest reference memory impairment. Interestingly, the forced swimming test revealed a predisposition to depressive-like behavior in the MeHg-exposed male offspring. This study provides novel evidence that the developmental exposure to MeHg can affect not only cognitive functions but also motivation-driven behaviors.
Key Words: developmental neurotoxicity; behavior; neural stem cells.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  C. N. Glover, D. Zheng, S. Jayashankar, G. D. Sales, C. Hogstrand, and A.-K. Lundebye Methylmercury Speciation Influences Brain Gene Expression and Behavior in Gestationally-Exposed Mice Pups Toxicol. Sci., August 1, 2009; 110(2): 389 - 400. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Tamm, F. Sabri, and S. Ceccatelli Mitochondrial-Mediated Apoptosis in Neural Stem Cells Exposed to Manganese Toxicol. Sci., February 1, 2008; 101(2): 310 - 320. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|