Spontaneous Activity and Passive Avoidance Behavior of Rats Exposed by Inhalation to Brass Dust (1 and 10 mg/m(sup 3))

摘要

This report describes one part of a multilevel assessment of the subchronic toxicity of inhaled brass dust in rodents at 1 and 10 mg/m(sup 3). The effects of inhaling these concentrations for 6 and 13 wks (30 and 65 calendar days, respectively) on blood chemistry, hematology, respiratory physiology, bronchopulmonary lavage fluid, organ/body weight ratios, histopathology and fetal development in the rat, have already been reported.1,2 Rats utilized for assessing the effects of this compound on pulmonary function, described in Thomson et al.,1 were also evaluated behaviorally. These behavior results are the subject of this report. There were no statistically significant dose-response or exposure duration effects on passive avoidance (step down) behavior or spontaneous activity. There was no evidence of any direct CNS effect in the rat related to the inhalation of brass dust. There was some evidence of residual recovery effects from exposure-related hyperpnea in the session SA of male rats. Keywords: Rats; Spontaneous activity test; Passive avoidance test; Body weight; Subchronic inhalation. (kt)