Browsing by Author "Greengrove, Eva"

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    Gestational and perinatal exposure to diazinon causes long-lasting neurobehavioral consequences in the rat.
    (Toxicology, 2020-01) Hawkey, Andrew; Pippen, Erica; White, Hannah; Kim, Joseph; Greengrove, Eva; Kenou, Bruny; Holloway, Zade; Levin, Edward D
    Diazinon is a widely-used organophosphate pesticide. Pulsatile exposure to diazinon during neonatal development has previously been shown cause long-term neurobehavioral impairments in rats. However, the effects of chronic low concentration exposures during perinatal development remain unclear. This experiment evaluated such effects in Sprague-Dawley rats by implanting osmotic pumps in breeder females prior to conception (N = 13-15 litters per condition) which then delivered chronic, zero order kinetic low-level infusions of 0, 114 or 228 ug/day of diazinon throughout pregnancy. One male and one female from each litter was assessed with a battery of behavioral tests that continued from four weeks of age into adulthood. Litter was used as the unit of variance for the analysis of variance test of significance, with sex as a within litter factor. Diazinon treatment condition was the between subjects factor and time or sessions were repeated measures. Chronic diazinon exposure from pre-mating until the neonatal period caused a significant (p < 0.05) increase in percent of time spent on the open arms of the elevated plus maze, an index of risk-taking behavior. Gestational and lactational diazinon exposure also caused a significant (p < 0.05) degree of hyperactivity in the Figure-8 apparatus during adolescence, specifically affecting the early part of the hour-long test session. This effect had dissipated by the time the rats reached adulthood. Diazinon exposure also caused a significant impairment in novel object recognition, a test of cognitive function. Offspring exposed to 228 ug/day diazinon (p < 0.05) showed significantly less preference for the novel vs. familiar object than controls during the first five minutes of the novel object recognition test.
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    Paternal nicotine exposure in rats produces long-lasting neurobehavioral effects in the offspring.
    (Neurotoxicology and teratology, 2019-05-16) Hawkey, Andrew B; White, Hannah; Pippen, Erica; Greengrove, Eva; Rezvani, Amir H; Murphy, Susan K; Levin, Edward D
    Studies of intergenerational effects of parental chemical exposure have principally focused on maternal exposure, particularly for studies of adverse neurobehavioral consequences on the offspring. Maternal nicotine exposure has long been known to cause adverse neurobehavioral effects on the offspring. However, paternal toxicant exposure has also been found to cause neurobehavioral toxicity in their offspring. Recent work suggests that paternal nicotine exposure can have epigenetic effects, although it remains unclear whether such changes lead to neurobehavioral effects. In the current study, we investigated the effects of paternal nicotine exposure on neurobehavioral development of their offspring. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 0 or 2 mg/kg/day nicotine (sc) for 56 consecutive days with two consecutive 2ML4 osmotic minipumps. Following treatment, these males were mated with drug-naïve female rats. Offspring of both sexes were tested in a behavioral battery to assess locomotion, emotional function and cognition. Paternal nicotine exposure did not impact offspring viability, health or growth. However, behavioral function of the offspring was significantly altered by paternal nicotine exposure. Male offspring with paternal nicotine exposure exhibited locomotor hyperactivity in the Figure-8 apparatus when tested during adolescence. When retested in adulthood and regardless of sex, offspring of the nicotine exposed father showed significantly reduced habituation of locomotor activity over the course of the session. Compared to controls, female offspring of nicotine-exposed fathers showed significantly reduced response latency in the radial arm maze test. In addition to locomotor hyperactivity, the offspring of nicotine-exposed fathers also showed significantly diminished habituation in the novel object recognition test. These results indicate that chronic paternal nicotine exposure can impact the behavior of offspring, producing locomotor hyperactivity and impaired habituation.