Erickson Zachary T, Falkenberg Erin A, Metz Gerlinde A S
Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
PLoS One. 2014 Jun 17;9(6):e92132. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092132. eCollection 2014.
The consumption of artificial food dye (AFD) during childhood and adolescence has been linked to behavioural changes, such as hyperactivity. It is possible that the vulnerability to AFDs is modified by prenatal stress. Common consequences of prenatal stress include hyperactivity, thus potentially leading to synergistic actions with AFDs. Here, we investigated the compounding effect of multigenerational prenatal stress (MPS) and AFD consumption on the development of hyperactivity and anxiety-related behaviours across the lifespan in male rats. MPS treatment involved a family history of four consecutive generations of prenatal stress (F4 generation). AFD treatment included a 4%-concentration of FD&C Red 40, FD&C Yellow 5, FD&C Yellow 6, and FD&C Blue 1 in the drinking water from postnatal days 22 to 50 to resemble juvenile and adolescent dietary exposure. Using several exploration tasks, animals were tested in motor activity and anxiety-like behaviours from adolescence to 13 months of age. MPS resulted in hyperactivity both early (50 days) and later in life (13 months), with normalized activity patterns at reproductive age. AFD consumption resulted in hyperactivity during consumption, which subsided following termination of treatment. Notably, both MPS and AFD promoted risk-taking behaviour in young adults (3 months). There were few synergistic effects between MPS and AFD in this study. The findings suggest that AFDs exert the most noticeable effects at the time of exposure. MPS, however, results in a characteristic lifespan profile of behavioural changes, indicating that development and aging represent particularly vulnerable periods in life during which a family history of prenatal stress may precipitate.
儿童期和青少年期食用人工食用色素（AFD）与行为变化有关，如多动。产前应激可能会改变对AFD的易感性。产前应激的常见后果包括多动，因此可能与AFD产生协同作用。在此，我们研究了多代产前应激（MPS）和AFD消费对雄性大鼠一生中多动和焦虑相关行为发展的复合影响。MPS处理涉及连续四代产前应激的家族史（F4代）。AFD处理包括从出生后第22天到第50天在饮用水中添加4%浓度的FD&C红40、FD&C黄5、FD&C黄6和FD&C蓝1，以模拟青少年和青春期的饮食暴露。使用多种探索任务，对动物从青春期到13个月大时的运动活动和焦虑样行为进行测试。MPS在早期（50天）和后期（13个月）均导致多动，在生殖年龄时活动模式恢复正常。食用AFD在食用期间导致多动，治疗终止后多动症状消退。值得注意的是，MPS和AFD均促进了年轻成年大鼠（3个月）的冒险行为。本研究中MPS和AFD之间几乎没有协同作用。研究结果表明，AFD在接触时产生最明显的影响。然而，MPS会导致行为变化呈现出特定的终生特征，这表明发育和衰老代表了生命中特别脆弱的时期，在此期间，产前应激的家族史可能会引发问题。
