Prolonged Inhibition of Motor Activity Following Repeated Exposure to Low Levels of Chemical Warfare Agent VX

摘要

While neurobehavioral effects of acute exposure to toxic levels of chemical warfare nerve agents (CWNA) have been characterized; much less is known about the effects of repeated exposure to non-convulsive levels of CWNA. In Exp. 1, male mice that received repeated exposure (1/day x 5 days/wk x 2 wk) to 0.4 LD50 of the nerve agent VX had much lower activity in the home cage, relative to saline treated mice, with activity levels gradually reaching that of control by 6 weeks post-exposure. In Exp. 2, repeated exposure to 0.2 LD50 and 0.4 LD50 VX in male and female mice reduced activity in a novel open-field test 10 days following the last VX exposure. These findings indicate long-term performance deficits following exposure to non-convulsive levels of VX.