Investigating the Effects of Polychlorinated Biphenyls on Circulating Oxytocin Levels, Area of the Paraventricular Nucleus and Social Behavior in Juvenile Male Rats
Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: Social recognition is a class of behavior that is responsible for pair bonding and attachment to conspecifics.Neural circuits responsible for bringing about this behavior are present in the central and medial amygdala as well as the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) which contains oxytocin receptors.Oxytocinergic neurons from the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and pre-optic area of the brain project to these areas and have been shown to modulate social recognition.Poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are a class of environmental toxicants that can exert effects at both the cellular and behavioral levels.They exert their toxic effects on almost every part of the body including the brain.In the present study, the effect of a mixture of PCB 47 (2, 2', 4, 4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl) and PCB 77 (3, 3', 4, 4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl) on circulating oxytocin levels, change in the area of the PVN and social recognition in juvenile male Spraque-Dawley rats was examined.Rat offspring were exposed to low doses of PCB (12.5 and 25 ppm) via the maternal diet perinatally and postnatally through lactation.Social recognition experiments were conducted in juvenile rats under red light on PND 21 using connected social and non-social boxes.The difference in investigation time between social and non-social box suggests that doses of PCB 12.5 do not cause significant changes in social recognition as compared to that in controls.However, PCB 25 results in a significant difference as compared to controls in the second trial for mean social investigation time and mean difference in investigation time between social and non-social box.Neither dose of PCB significantly altered either PVN area or circulating level of oxytocin.These results could indicate that low doses of a iii mixture of PCB 47 and 77 do not significantly affect the morphology of brain areas and peripheral oxytocin influencing social recognition.
Author: Banafsheh Jolous-Jamshidi
Institution: Bowling Green State University
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2524023038