Citation

Johns JM, Means MJ, Bass EW, Means LW, Zimmerman LI, McMillen BA. Dev. Psychobiol. 1994; 27(4): 227-239.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-7250.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/dev.420270405

PMID

7913451

Abstract

Social/aggressive behavior in adult rat offspring (beginning at postnatal Day 180) prenatally exposed to saline, cocaine, or amfonelic acid (AFA) was examined. Pregnant rats received injections of 15 mg/kg of cocaine, or 0.9% saline twice daily, s.c., or on 2 consecutive days at 4-day intervals, or 1.5 mg/kg amfonelic acid daily throughout gestational Days 1-20. Frequency, duration, and latency of 11 social/aggressive behaviors were recorded for two 15-min sessions during which a smaller male intruder replaced an ovariectomized female in the resident's home cage. Subjects received a s.c. saline injection before Session 1 and 2.0 mg/kg of gepirone, a 5HT1a partial agonist, prior to Session 2. Prenatal cocaine treatment resulted in alterations of aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior was reduced by gepirone in all groups but to a lesser extent in the AFA group.

Language: en