Environmental enrichment to alleviate maze performance deficits in rats with microcephaly induced by X-irradiation

Journal Article · Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1981 · Physiol. Behav.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(81)90045-7· OSTI ID:5528687

Shibagaki, M; Seo, M; Asano, T; Kiyono, S ^[1]

---

1. Aichi Prefectural Colony, Kasugai (Japan). Inst. for Developmental Research

Pregnant rats received 150 R of X-irradiation on day 17 of gestation. The male offspring were reared under environmentally enriched (EC), standard colony (SC) or impoverished conditions (IC) for 30 days after weaning. Then the Hebb-Williams maze test was carried out. The effects of X-irradiation and environment were both significant in initial, repetitive and total error scores and running time. Further analysis revealed that both EC-SC and EC-IC differences in initial, repetitive and total error scores were significant in X-irradiated animals, whereas only the EC-IC difference in initial and total error scores was significant in sham-irradiated control animals. Total protein, protein/g cortex, total benzodiazepine and muscarine cholinergic receptor bindings, and muscarinic cholinergic receptor binding/mg protein in the cerebral cortex were decreased in X-irradiated groups, compared to controls, but the effect of environment was not significant in these items. The results confirmed that environmental enrichment is a useful tool to alleviate the learning decrements in prenatally X-irradiated microcephalic rats.

• OSTI ID: 5528687
• Journal Information: Physiol. Behav.; (United States), Vol. 27:5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
LEARNING
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
ACETYLCHOLINE
BEHAVIOR
BRAIN
ENVIRONMENT
MALFORMATIONS
PRENATAL IRRADIATION
RATS
RECEPTORS
TRANQUILIZERS
WHOLE-BODY IRRADIATION
X RADIATION
AMINES
AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
ANIMALS
AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM AGENTS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BODY
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AGENTS
DRUGS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ESTERS
EXTERNAL IRRADIATION
IONIZING RADIATIONS
IRRADIATION
MAMMALS
NERVOUS SYSTEM
NEUROREGULATORS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PARASYMPATHOMIMETICS
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES
PRENATAL EXPOSURE
PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
QUATERNARY COMPOUNDS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATIONS
RODENTS
VERTEBRATES
560152* - Radiation Effects on Animals- Animals
550100 - Behavioral Biology