Behavioral and physiological effects of trimethyltin in the rat hippocampus.

An injection of trimethyltin (TMT) into adult male Wistar rats produced a transient hyperirritability and aggressive behavior. When these effects of the drug subsided, the rats were still markedly impaired in performance of a spatial memory task examined in a watermaze. Activity of neurons in the hippocampus of these TMT-treated rats was studied in a slice preparation. A large (8 mg/kg) or double (7.5 and 3.5 mg/kg, two weeks apart) i.p. injection of TMT caused a loss of slow inhibitory postsynaptic potentials recorded in CA1 neurons in response to stimulation of stratum radiatum. A loss of accommodating properties of the neurons in response to a prolonged depolarizing current pulse was also seen in some of these cells. Other resting properties of the neurons were within the normal range. Topical application of acetylcholine (ACh) produces in normal hippocampal neurons a depolarizing response and a blockade of after-hyperpolarization. Only the latter response to ACh was seen in cells from TMT treated rats. No effect of the drug on reactivity to serotonin was detected. These effects of TMT were not seen when the drug was applied acutely while recording from cells in the slice indicating that it involves a degeneration process. These results suggest that the cognitive deficits in TMT treated rats might be associated with deficits in cholinergic functions.