Effects of bisphenol A exposure during early development on behavior and anatomy of the prefrontal cortex in adult male and female rats

Sadowski, Renee

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/44423 Copy

Description

Title

Effects of bisphenol A exposure during early development on behavior and anatomy of the prefrontal cortex in adult male and female rats

Author(s)

Sadowski, Renee

Issue Date

2013-05-24T22:15:32Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Juraska, Janice M.

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Juraska, Janice M.

Committee Member(s)

• Schantz, Susan L.
• Gulley, Joshua M.
• Flaws, Jodi A.
• Mahoney, Megan M.

Department of Study

School of Molecular & Cell Bio

Discipline

Neuroscience

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• bisphenol A (BPA)
• prefrontal cortex
• radial arm maze
• neuron number
• glia number
• Neuroanatomy
• neurotoxicology
• development
• thyroxine

Abstract

Previous work has shown that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during early development can affect behavior and sexual differentiation of the brain in rodents, although few studies have examined effects on cognitive behavior and associated areas of the brain. The current study examined if exposure to BPA during early development alters general measures of growth and development, cognitive behavior, and anatomy of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in adulthood. Long-Evans hooded rats were orally exposed to corn oil (vehicle), 4µg/kg, 40µg/kg, or 400µg/kg throughout pregnancy and during the early postnatal period. Measures of general growth and development, such as body weight, puberty onset, and levels of thyroxine (T4) were assessed at weaning age. One male and one female from each litter were trained on the 17-arm radial arm maze in adulthood. Several weeks following completion of training, brains were removed from these rats to stereologically assess neuron and glia number in the medial prefrontal cortex. Results indicated that levels of T4 at weaning age were significantly altered by exposure to BPA. Additionally, there were also minor indications for learning impairments in the radial arm maze task in males, although these were only seen in late in training and most comparisons revealed only non-significant trends. For neuroanatomical measures, males exposed to 400ug/kg/day BPA displayed a significantly larger number of neurons and glia in layers 5-6 of the mPFC. In conclusion, exposure to BPA leads to alterations in T4 levels at weaning age and significant changes in anatomy of the prefrontal cortex in males only. The changes in neuroanatomy of the prefrontal cortex may be indicative of a particular susceptibility of males to exposure of BPA.

Graduation Semester

2013-05

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/44423

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Copyright 2013 Renee Sadowski

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