Abstract
Adult female offspring of C57 BL/6J mice injected daily with phenobarbital for the last third of pregnancy were more active than control offspring during a 3-min test period in an open field arena, thus confirming previous reports of lasting effects of prenatal exposure to phenobarbital. These offspring habituated less rapidly than control offspring to the open field and were more reactive to sudden changes in environmental stimuli. The behavioral changes were not accompanied by body or brain weight deficits. The maternal drug injections did not alter brain concentrations of dopamine or norepinephrine in the adult offspring or the degree of reduction in these transmitters produced by the synthesis inhibitors α-methyltyrosine. Although activity was reduced by the catecholamine synthesis inhibitor, the effect was similar for offspring of both drug-treated and control dams.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armitage SG (1952) The effects of barbiturates on the behavior of rat offspring as measured in learning and reasoning situations. J Comp Physiol Psychol 45:146–152
Corrodi H, Hanson LCT (1966) Central effects of an inhibitor of tyrosine hydroxylation. Psychopharmacologia 10:116–125
Costa E, Neff NH (1969) Estimation of turnover rates to study the metabolic regulation of the steady-state level of neuronal monoamines. In: Lajtha A (ed) Handbook of Neurochemistry, vol 4. Plenum, New York, pp 45–90
Diaz J, Schain RJ (1978) Phenobarbital: Effects of long-term administration on behavior and brain of artifically reared rats. Science 199:90–91
Diaz J, Schain RJ, Bailey BG (1977) Phenobarbital-induced brain growth retardation in artifically reared rat pups. Biol Neonat 32:77–82
Gupta C, Sonawane BR, Yaffe SJ (1980) Phenobarbital exposure in utero: Alterations in female reproductive function in rats. Science 208:508–510
Hutchings DE, Tauey JP, Gorinson HS, Hunt HF (1979) Methadone during pregnancy: Assessment of behavioral effects in the rat offspring. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 208:106–112
Martin JC, Martin DC, Lamire R, Mackler B (1979) Effects of maternal absorption of phenobarbital upon rat offspring development and function. Neurobehav Toxicol 1:49–55
Mauri N (1966) Effect of maternal medication during pregnancy upon behavioral development of offspring. Tohoku J Exp Med 89:265–272
Middaugh LD, Santos CA III, Zemp JW (1975a) Effects of phenobarbital given to pregnant mice on behavior of mature offspring. Dev Psychobiol 8:305–313
Middaugh LD, Santos CA III, Zemp JW (1975b) Phenobarbital during pregnancy alters operant behavior of offspring in C57BL/6J mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 3:1137–1139
Middaugh LD, Boggan WO, Wilson-Burrows C, Zemp JW (1979) Prenatal maternal phenobarbital alters plasma concentrations of corticosterone in developing offspring. Life Sci 24:999–1002
Shellenberger MK, Gordon JH (1971) A rapid, simplified procedure for simultaneous assay of norepinephrine, dopamine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine from discrete brain areas. Anal Biochem 39:356–372
Wilson JG (1973) Environment and birth defects. Academic Press, New York
Winer BJ (1971) Statistical principles in experimental design. McGraw-Hill, New York
Zemp JW, Middaugh LD (1975) Some effects of prenatal exposure to d-amphetamine sulfate and phenobarbital on developmental neurochemistry and on behavior. Addict Dis Int J 2:307–331
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Middaugh, L.D., Simpson, L.W., Thomas, T.N. et al. Prenatal maternal phenobarbital increases reactivity and retards habituation of mature offspring to environmental stimuli. Psychopharmacology 74, 349–352 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00432745
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00432745