Sundell-Bergman, Synnöve
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Purpose: To investigate whether neonatal exposure to fractionated external gamma radiation and co-exposure to radiation and nicotine can affect/exacerbate developmental neurotoxic effects, including altered behavior/cognitive function and the susceptibility of the cholinergic system in adult male mice.Materials and methods: Neonatal male Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice were irradiated with one 200 mGy fraction/day and/or exposed to nicotine (66 mu g/kg b.w.) twice daily on postnatal day (PND) 10, 10-11, 10-12 or 10-13 (nicotine only). At 2 months of age the animals were tested for spontaneous behavior in a novel home environment, habituation capacity and nicotine-induced behavior.Results: Fractionated irradiation and co-exposure to radiation and nicotine on three consecutive days disrupted behavior and habituation and altered susceptibility of the cholinergic system. All observed effects were significantly more pronounced in mice co-exposed to both radiation and nicotine.Conclusions: The fractionated irradiation regime affects behavior/cognitive function in a similar manner as has previously been observed for single-dose exposures. Neonatal co-exposure to radiation and nicotine, during a critical period of brain development in general and cholinergic system development in particular, enhance these behavioral defects suggesting that the cholinergic system can be a target system for this type of developmental neurotoxic effects.
Keywords
Low-dose radiation; nicotine; cholinergic system; cognition; brain development; behavior
Published in
International Journal of Radiation Biology
2016, volume: 92, number: 7, pages: 371-379
Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Radiology and Medical Imaging
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/09553002.2016.1164911
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/82872