Effects of perinatal bisphenol A exposure during early development on radial arm maze behavior in adult male and female rats

•Pregnant females received 0, 4, 40, or 400 μg/kg/day BPA throughout gestation.•Male and female offspring were orally given the same dose from postnatal days 1–9.•As adults, rats were trained on the 17-arm radial maze with baited and unbaited arms.•BPA did not significantly alter adult performance in either males or females.•BPA doses of 4 and 400 μg/kg/day decreased FSH levels in both sexes at weaning.

Previous work has shown that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) can affect anxiety behavior. However, no studies have examined whether administration of this endocrine disruptor during the perinatal period has the potential to induce alterations in cognitive behavior in both adult males and females as assessed in an appetitive task. The goal of the current study was to determine whether exposure to different doses of BPA during early development alters performance on the 17-arm radial maze in adulthood in Long–Evans rats. Oral administration of corn oil (vehicle), 4 μg/kg, 40 μg/kg, or 400 μg/kg BPA to the dams occurred daily throughout pregnancy, and the pups received direct oral administration of BPA between postnatal days 1–9. Blood was collected from offspring at weaning age to determine levels of several hormones (thyroxine, thyroid stimulating hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone). One male and one female from each litter were evaluated on the 17-arm radial maze, a working/reference memory task, in adulthood. Results indicated that after exposure to BPA at both 4 and 400 μg/kg/day, rats of both sexes had decreased levels of FSH at weaning. There were no significant effects of BPA on performance on the radial arm maze in males or females. In conclusion, exposure to BPA during early development had modest effects on circulating hormones but did not affect performance on a spatial learning and memory task.