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Effects of Co-Insults of Methyl Mercury and Gamma Radiation on the Open-Field, Sexual, and Conditioned-Avoidance Behavior of the Albino Rat

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Abstract

Rats were assigned to six treatment groups in which they received 4.5 or 9 kR total body radiation, 4 or 8 mg methyl mercuric chloride (MMC) per kg body weight, co-insults of 4.5 kR radiation with 4 mg MMC/kg or 9 kR with 8 mg MMC/kg, and a control group receiving neither radiation nor MMC. MMC insult preceded the radiation insult by 7 days. Treatment effects were determined by examining open-field, sexual, and conditioned-avoidance behavior, beginning 60 to 105 min. after irradiation or sham irradiation. The open-field tests showed no effects of mercury alone, but a significant reduction of activity was produced by both levels of radiation administered as single insults. The sexual performance of animals receiving MMC and radiation as single insults was disrupted by low and high levels of both treatments. In the open-field and sexual-behavior tests, there was a consistent though statistically insignificant tendency for the co-insult treatment groups to show fewer disruptive effects than were shown by the radiation-alone groups. The controls exhibited more correct conditioned-avoidance responses than all experimental conditions except for 8 mg MMC/kg treatment, but the test did not distinguish between other treatment levels.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas Woman’s University, 76204, Box 23029, TWU Station, Denton, Texas, USA

    H. D. Day & Eugene W. Hupp

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  1. H. D. Day
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  2. Eugene W. Hupp
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This work was supported by Environmental Protection Agency Grant R800282 and Texas Woman’s University institutional research funds.

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Day, H.D., Hupp, E.W. Effects of Co-Insults of Methyl Mercury and Gamma Radiation on the Open-Field, Sexual, and Conditioned-Avoidance Behavior of the Albino Rat. Psychol Rec 29, 275–285 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394613

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394613

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