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A Developmental Study of Reflex and Activity in Rats with Microcephaly Induced by Prenatal Methylazoxymethanol Acetate (MAM) Treatment
Author(s) -
SUGIOKA Kozo,
YAMADORI Takashi
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
congenital anomalies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1741-4520
pISSN - 0914-3505
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-4520.1992.tb00789.x
Subject(s) - righting reflex , reflex , open field , offspring , microcephaly , hippocampus , pregnancy , medicine , endocrinology , biology , pediatrics , genetics
Pregnant Wistar rats were given a single i. p. injection of 30 mg/kg methylazoxymethanol (MAM) acetate or saline on day 13 of pregnancy (vaginal plug = day 0). All offspring were subjected to reflex tests during the preweaning period (surface righting reflex, from 3 to 12 days of age; negative geotaxis reflex, from 5 to 12 days of age), and then selected male rats were subjected to open‐field test during the postweaning period (from 21 to 35 days of age). The MAM‐treated rats showed significantly longer latencies in the both reflex tests, and also significant hyperactivity in the open‐field test. These behavioral alterations were analyzed in relation to the large size reduction in the cerebral cortex and the morphological abnormalities of the hippocampus in the MAM‐treated rats.