Rodríguez V M, Carrizales L, Jiménez-Capdeville M E, Dufour L, Giordano M
Center for Neurobiology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México-Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Juriquilla, Querétaro, México.
Brain Res Bull. 2001 May 15;55(2):301-8. doi: 10.1016/s0361-9230(01)00477-4.
Arsenic is a metalloid widely present in the environment. It is found in well water, soil, and air, and is also released from mining residues and industrial debris, among other anthropogenic sources. It has been previously reported that the content of catecholamines in striatum, hippocampus, and other cerebral regions changes in mice and rats exposed to arsenic. Few studies have examined behavioral alterations after intoxication with arsenic, and both increased and decreased locomotor activity, as well as learning deficits, have been described. In order to characterize the behavioral alterations induced by arsenic exposure, we exposed adult male Sprague-Dawley rats to 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg of arsenic by intragastric route for 2 or 4 weeks. Exposed rats showed reduced locomotor activity, which returned to control levels at the end of the intoxication period. We also found an increase in the number of errors in an egocentric task, alterations in monoamine content in midbrain and cortex, and increases in arsenic brain concentration, which were related to time of the exposure but not dose. These results indicate that short-term arsenic exposure induces neural and behavioral changes that may reflect a neurotoxic effect, and that these alterations are correlated to dose, time of exposure, and experimental conditions.
砷是一种广泛存在于环境中的类金属。它存在于井水、土壤和空气中，也从采矿残渣和工业废料等其他人为来源中释放出来。此前有报道称，接触砷的小鼠和大鼠纹状体、海马体及其他脑区的儿茶酚胺含量会发生变化。很少有研究考察砷中毒后的行为改变，既有运动活动增加和减少的情况，也有学习缺陷的描述。为了表征砷暴露引起的行为改变，我们通过灌胃途径让成年雄性斯普拉格-道利大鼠接触5、10和20毫克/千克的砷，持续2周或4周。暴露的大鼠运动活动减少，在中毒期结束时恢复到对照水平。我们还发现，在以自我为中心的任务中错误数量增加，中脑和皮层中的单胺含量改变，以及砷在脑中的浓度增加，这些都与暴露时间有关，而与剂量无关。这些结果表明，短期砷暴露会引起神经和行为变化，这可能反映了一种神经毒性作用，而且这些改变与剂量、暴露时间和实验条件相关。
