The neurobehavioral effects of pralidoxime mesylate in the rat.

The neurobehavioral effects of pralidoxime mesylate (P2S) were characterized in the rat by comparing standard measures such as conditioned taste aversion, operant behavior and spontaneous locomotor activity. Male albino Sprague-Dawley rats were injected IP with either saline, 25, 50, or 100 mg/kg of P2S. None of these doses produced any overt toxic effects. P2S produced a conditioned taste aversion at the highest dose (100 mg/kg) using a single conditioning trial with sucrose in a one-bottle test. Acute administration of 100 mg/kg did not disrupt fixed ratio responding on a water reinforced schedule. All three doses, 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, decreased spontaneous locomotor activity in a dose-dependent manner. The results of these studies support the findings that a single injection of P2S at the therapeutic levels would not disrupt the normal working performance in man.