Behavioral effects of drugs as a function of maternal polybrominated biphenyl body burden.

Prior to breeding, female rats were dosed orally for 20 days with either 0.5 mg/kg polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), 5.0 mg/kg PBB, or the lecithin liposome vehicle. Male offspring of these 3 treatment groups did not differ with respect to the learning of an operant discrimination task. However, administration of phenobarbital or d-amphetamine impaired the behavior of the offspring of low-dose PBB dams less than that of the offspring of controls. The behavioral effects of the drugs were generally inversely related to levels of liver PBB and activities of liver aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH).