You are here:
EVALUTION OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN WEANLING RATS: A REVIEW OF METHODS SUITABLE FOR CHEMICAL SCREENING.
Citation:
EHMAN, K. AND V. C. MOSER. EVALUTION OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN WEANLING RATS: A REVIEW OF METHODS SUITABLE FOR CHEMICAL SCREENING. Presented at Neurobehavioral Teratology Society, Tucson, AZ, June 25 - 29, 2006.
Description:
The current developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) guidelines for environmental agents require cognitive testing around the age of weaning as well as adulthood. There are challenges associated with testing weanling rodents that are not present with testing older subjects, including rapid brain development, and the impact of food or water restriction necessary for appetitive paradigms. This poster will provide an overview of cognitive tests that can be used for laboratory rodents in the context of such DNT studies; as such, those requiring surgery or food and/or water deprivation are excluded. Potential test methods include spontaneous, avoidance, conditioned, spatial, and sequential behavioral assays; however, some procedures meet scientific and regulatory requirements better than others. Although the poster provides a broad summary of the available assays, scientific judgment should be exercised in the choice of cognitive measures for weanling rodents in DNT studies, and should include an assessment of the sensitivity and efficiency of the procedure, an understanding of the literature and the neuronal substrates involved, and evaluation of available information on the test compound¿s mechanism of action. This literature review was conducted while K.D. Ehman was generously supported by an EPA/UNC Curriculum in Toxicology Training Agreement (T829472). (This abstract does not necessarily reflect EPA policy).