Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
9414679 Developmental Brain Research 2005 11 Pages PDF
Abstract
Intraperitoneal administration of 17α-ethinylestradiol (15 μg.kg−1) in pregnant rats, every day from day 9 to day 14 of pregnancy, elicited a high percentage of abortions. Quantification of maternal behavior showed that treated dams took better care of their pups than control dams, injected with the vehicle only, did. Postnatal reflexes, which reflect maturational rate, were established more promptly in the offspring of treated dams than in the offspring of control dams. However, when adult, the rats born from treated dams developed anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors. All these results are explained by the effects of the exogenous estrogen on the developing brain of the fetuses.
Related Topics
Life Sciences Neuroscience Developmental Neuroscience
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