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Effects of Homocysteic Acid and Estrogen on Behavior in Female Rats
Author(s) -
Barney Chris C.,
Loubser Lize,
Samuel Shirly,
Chase Leah A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.1284.1
Subject(s) - open field , endocrinology , weaning , ovariectomized rat , medicine , estrogen , morris water navigation task , behavioural despair test , offspring , hippocampus , biology , pregnancy , antidepressant , genetics
Homocysteic acid (HCA) is a neurotoxin that can over stimulate NMDA receptors, leading to neuronal cell death. In humans, hyperhomocystemia, which can lead to elevated HCA levels, has been associated with a variety of disorders, including schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that neonatal administration of HCA causes behavioral changes in female but not male rats. The purpose of the current study study was to determine if the behavioral alterations caused by HCA in female rats were dependent on estrogen levels. Rats were administered HCA intraperitoneally for two weeks starting on day two after birth, housed singly after weaning, and ovariectomized at six and one‐half weeks of age. Half of the HCA treated and half of the control rats had silastic tubes containing estradiol proprionate implanted subcutaneously at the time of ovariectomy. Behavioral testing began three weeks later. Estrogen increased the amount of time the rats spent in the innermost zone in an Open Field Test, increased voluntary running on a running wheel, reduced the number of falls on a RotaRod, increased time to remove tails from hot water, increased saccharine intake, and increased time before giving up in the Forced Swim Test. HCA reduced ambulatory time and distance traveled in the Open Field Test, decreased the number of visits to the open arm in an Elevated Plus Maze test, reduced social interactions in a two‐cage intruder test, and reduced 24 hour retention of the memory of the hidden platform in a Morris Water Maze test. The only significant interactions between HCA and Estrogen were in the ambulatory time and distance traveled in the Open Field Test and in the time spent with the intruder in the social interaction test. This experiment demonstrated that numerous behaviors in rats are estrogen dependent but behavioral responses to HCA are not very estrogen dependent. Support or Funding Information Supported by the Hope College Biology Department.