| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6264176 | Brain Research | 2012 | 10 Pages |
Prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF) leads to cognitive impairments in adulthood. The cytoarchitectural basis is unclear. In the present study, we assessed the effects of prenatal CPF exposure on T-maze delayed alternation task and the win-shift/lose-shift responses associated with the morphology of the dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in adult animals. Gestational ICR female mice were exposed to 0, 1 or 5Â mg/kg/d of CPF through gestational days 13-17. Behavioral experiments were performed on postnatal days (PD) 45-60 of the male and female offsprings; morphological samples were collected on PD 60. Our behavioral study results showed a gradual increase in the number of lose-shift errors on increased memory loads in the 5Â mg/kg/d CPF-treated males. A weak initial increase in the number of lose-shift errors was observed in the females. In all of the groups, no significant differences were observed in the number of win-shift errors and correct of the first choice. The morphological studies showed extensive condensed nucleus and enlarged intercellular spaces in the CA1 and DG sub-regions in the dHPC of the CPF-treated males and the DG sub-region of the CPF-treated females. The cell count was significantly reduced in these sub-regions. The morphological studies showed no obvious abnormalities at PrL and IL of mPFC in the CPF-treated males and females, but the cell count was reduced. Our findings suggest that prenatal CPF exposure at 5Â mg/kg/d induces selective cognitive impairments, which based on the morphological deficits in the dHPC and the mPFC.
⺠Prenatal chlorpyrifos induces selective cognitive damages in adult pups. ⺠Prenatal chlorpyrifos induces selective brain region deficits in adult pups. ⺠The cognitive damages and brain region deficits are sex different. ⺠There is function-structure relationship in chlorpyrifos induced neurotoxicity.
