Zafar Shamaila, Williams Courtney, Joo Jaehyun, Himes Blanca E, Schneider Jay S
Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, United States.
Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States.
Toxicol Rep. 2025 Jan 30;14:101937. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2025.101937. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Developmental lead (Pb) exposure results in a variety of cognitive deficits and behavioral issues including increased antisocial behavior and aggression. This study investigated the effect of developmental Pb exposure on aggression and violent behavior in male rats and the potential modulatory influences of quality of maternal care and enriched/non-enriched housing conditions. Long-Evans male rats with or without Pb exposure (perinatal or early postnatal) from low or high maternal care mothers (based on amounts of licking/grooming and arched-back nursing) were randomly assigned to live in enriched or non-enriched environments at weaning. At postnatal day 120-190, offensive aggression was assessed using a resident intruder test. Clinch attack (CAK) frequency and latency, and occurrence of biting events were observed to determine violent behavior. Both perinatal and postnatal Pb-exposed rats were significantly more aggressive and showed more violent behavior, compared to non-Pb-exposed animals, regardless of level of maternal care and environmental enrichment. High maternal care significantly lowered the proportion of animals with short CAK latencies and enriched housing significantly lowered the occurrence of biting events. These results suggest that high maternal care and enriched housing may potentially modify expression of violent aggressive behavior in rats with early life Pb exposure.
发育期间铅（Pb）暴露会导致多种认知缺陷和行为问题，包括反社会行为和攻击性增加。本研究调查了发育期间铅暴露对雄性大鼠攻击和暴力行为的影响，以及母性关怀质量和丰富/非丰富饲养条件的潜在调节作用。根据舔舐/梳理和弓背哺乳的次数，将来自低母性关怀或高母性关怀母亲的有或无铅暴露（围产期或出生后早期）的Long-Evans雄性大鼠在断奶时随机分配到丰富或非丰富环境中生活。在出生后第120 - 190天，使用定居者-入侵者测试评估攻击性攻击。观察扭抱攻击（CAK）频率和潜伏期以及咬斗事件的发生情况以确定暴力行为。与未暴露于铅的动物相比，无论母性关怀水平和环境丰富程度如何，围产期和出生后暴露于铅的大鼠都明显更具攻击性且表现出更多暴力行为。高母性关怀显著降低了CAK潜伏期短的动物比例，丰富饲养显著降低了咬斗事件的发生率。这些结果表明，高母性关怀和丰富饲养可能会潜在改变早年暴露于铅的大鼠暴力攻击行为的表现。
