Preliminary Behavioral Assessment of Habituation to the Insecticide Permethrin, August to October 1978.

摘要

Behavioral observations of immature male rats showed that they habituated to inhalation of permethrin aerosols. Habituation was carried out by exposing three groups of five rats to aerosols of permethrin for 21 days at 500 mg/cu m, followed immediately by exposure to 1,000 mg/cu m for an additional 21 days. Three groups of five rats each were not exposed but lived in identical housing. At the end of this period, all rats (both habituated and control) were given one 4-hour exposure to 5,000 mg/cu m. At the end of the 500 and 1,000 mg/cu m habituation period, there were no differences in retention of avoidance training. There were also no differences in the ability of five other exposed and five control rats to learn the same task. However, after the 5,000 mg/cu m exposure, a third unhabituated group showed significantly worse retention than the simultaneously exposed habituated rats and did significantly worse than on preexposure performances. These nonhabituated rats also showed decreases in coordination and balance and an increase in conflict behavior and tremors. No similar changes were shown by the habituated group. (Author)