Effects of acrylamide on multiple behavioral endpoints in the pigeon.

Little is known about acrylamide's effects on cognitive function in animals. Twelve pigeons were trained to stable levels of performance. We then determined the effects of subchronic exposure (p.o.) of 0, 20, and 60 mg/kg/day of acrylamide monomer on (1) duration discrimination responding; (2) fixed-interval performance; and (3) shape discrimination responding. Sixty mg/kg/day caused rapid impairment on all tests; recovery of various endpoints varied from 2 or 3 days to more than 4 weeks. Response latency recovered much more rapidly than the accuracy of duration discrimination. Measures of responding and discrimination recovered at approximately the same time for the FI and shape discrimination. FI response rate remained elevated post-acrylamide. Administration of 20 mg/kg/day for 90 days produced a consistent, but not significant, decrease in the accuracy of duration discrimination. Acrylamide affects a variety of behavioral processes involving sensory, motor and associative functions.