Follow-up of methylmercury concentration in brain areas of developing rats exposed during prenatal life using cold-vapor absorption spectrometry.

The concentration and the distribution of mercury in six different brain areas of developing rats (21 and 60 days of age) exposed to methylmercury (MMC) during prenatal life were determined by using pressure decomposition of the tissues and cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. The distribution of mercury in brain samples showed that the metal distributes to all brain areas, but with different levels. The amount of mercury in the brain areas was about 10-100 times higher, depending on the tested area, in MMC exposed rats than in control, at day 21 of age, while it was practically equal to controls at 60 days of age. These data seem to be of importance in order to correlate the presence of mercury in the brain and its distribution to brain areas after a single exposure to MMC with transient or permanent changes in specific neurotransmitter system and altered behaviors.