Abstract
Muricidal behavior, weight, open-field activity, passive-avoidance learning, and learning of an eight-arm radial maze were assessed in Long-Evans hooded rats subjected as weanlings to 60 days of oral administration of aluminum hydroxide gel (Group AA) or tap water (Group NA). Measurement of brain aluminum content indicated that the groups did not differ significantly in neural incorporation of aluminum, although the median amount of aluminum in each brain area examined was higher for Group AA than for Group NA. Although the highest brain concentrations of aluminum were found in the hippocampus, there was no evidence for cognitive impairment in the present study. Aluminum-exposed rats weighed less than nonexposed animals at all weight periods, probably reflecting their initially decreased fluid intake. There was slight evidence for activity changes as a function of brain aluminum content. Age of the animals appears to be an important consideration in the study of aluminum toxicity in rats, with young animals less affected than older animals.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bowdler, N. C., Beasley, D. S., Fritze, E. C., Goulette, A. M., Hatton, J. D., Hession, J., Ostman, D. L., Rugg, D. J., & Schmittdiel, C. J. (1979). Behavioral effects of aluminum ingestion on animal and human subjects. Pharmacology Biochemistry & Behavior, 10, 505–512.
Commissaris, R. L., Cordon, J. J., Sprague, S., Keiser, J., Mayor, G. H., & Rech, R. H. (1982). Behavioral changes in rats after chronic aluminum and parathyroid hormone administration. Neurobehavioral Toxicology & Teratology, 4, 403–410.
Crapper, D. R., & Dalton, A. J. (1973). Alterations in short-term retention, conditioned avoidance response acquisition and motivation following aluminum induced neurofibrillary degeneration. Physiology & Behavior, 10, 925–933.
Crapper, D. R., Krishnan, S. S., & Dalton, A. J. (1973). Brain aluminum distribution in Alzheimer’s disease and experimental neurofibrillary degeneration. Science, 180, 511–513.
Crapper, D. R., Krishnan, S. S., & Quittkat, S. (1976). Aluminum, neurofibrillary degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease. Brain, 99, 67–80.
Hinz, L. D., & Dufort, R. H. (1983, March). The effect of aluminum on memory of the rat. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, GA.
Horel, J. A. (1978). The neuroanatomy of amnesia. Brain, 101, 403–445.
Isaacson, R. L. (1974). The limbic system. New York: Plenum Press.
King, G. A., DeBoni, U., & Crapper, D. R. (1975). Effect of aluminum upon conditioned avoidance response acquisition in the absence of neurofibrillary degeneration. Pharmacology Biochemistry & Behavior, 3, 1003–1009.
Olton, D. S., & Samuelson, R. J. (1976). Remembrance of places passed: Spatial memory in rats. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 2, 97–116.
Petit, T, L. (1984). Lead-zinc interactions in the central nervous system, with particular reference to the hippocampus. In C. J. Frederickson, G. A. Howell, & E. J. Kasarskis (Eds.), The neurobiology of zinc. Part B: Deficiency, toxicity, and pathology. New York: Alan R. Liss.
Petit, T. L., Biederman, G. B., Jonas, P., & LeBoutillier, J. C, (1985). Neurobehavioral development following aluminum administration in infant rabbits. Experimental Neurology, 88, 640–651.
Petit, T. L., Biederman, G. B., & McMullen, P. A. (1980). Neurofibrillary degeneration, dendritic dying back, and learning-memory deficits after aluminum administration: Implications for brain aging. Experimental Neurology, 67, 152–162.
Thorne, B. M., Donohoe, T., Lin, K.-N., Lyon, S., Medeiros, D. M., & Weaver, M. L. (1986). Aluminum ingestion and behavior in the Long-Evans rat. Physiology & Behavior, 36, 63–67.
Wisniewski, H. M., Sturman, J. A., & Shek, J. W. (1980). Aluminum chloride induced neurofibrillary changes in the developing rabbit: A chronic animal model. Annals of Neurology, 8, 479–490.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The research was in part supported by an institutional grant from the National Science Foundation to Mississippi State University. The authors would like to thank Rosemary Wander for her assistance in preparing the brain samples for analysis.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thorne, B.M., Cook, A., Donohoe, T. et al. Aluminum toxicity and behavior in the weanling Long-Evans rat. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 25, 129–132 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330305
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330305