Particular concern at the present stage is the health effects of wildfires’ smoke. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of paternal biomass-smoke exposure on offspring’s behavior and cognitive abilities. Male rats were exposed to biomass smoke for four hours/day, five days/week, for four weeks. Average concentration of carbon monoxide and particulate matter of 2.5 μm PM2.5 in the chamber during exposure were 28.7 ± 5.3 mg/m3 and 1.9 ± 0.5 mg/m3, respectively. At the same time, high concentrations of furfural and acetaldehyde were detected in the air environment of the exposure chambers. Offspring was obtained by mating of experimental males with untreated females, immediately after the end of the exposure and after 60 days (long-term period). Offspring were tested by using the Morris water maze and open field at three months of age. Male and female offspring born by mating immediately after exposure demonstrated decreased exploratory behavior, locomotor activity, and spatial navigation, as well as increased anxiety levels. Locomotor and exploratory activity in rats of both sexes from progeny obtained after long-term exposure to smoke had no statistically significant differences when compared to the control; however, the females showed a high level of anxiety and impaired cognitive functions. The recovery period after biomass-smoke intoxication, comparable in duration of spermatogenesis in rats, was an important factor in reducing the risk of developing central nervous system (CNS) disorders in offspring.

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Introduction. The study of the effects of wildfire smoke on the reproductive function is the most important scientific problem at the present stage. The aim of study is to study the behavior and cognitive abilities of sexually mature offspring obtained from white male rats exposed to the smoke of wildfires. Materials and methods. Experiments were carried out on 30 white male rats and 60 adult male of their offspring. The duration of exposure was 4 weeks, 4 hours/day. To obtain progeny exposed males were mated with intact females immediately after the exposure and in long-term period after exposure. Examination of adult progeny was performed using the "open field", Morris water maze, and histological examination of brain tissue. Results. Behavioral and cognitive alterations in offspring of male rats exposed to wildfire smoke were obtained: significant decrease in motor activity and research on higher level of negative emotional state, impaired spatial memory performance. Individuals from offspring obtained in a long-term period after exposure to smoke showed a normalization of the studied parameters to background values. Conclusions. The long-term consequences of exposure to the smoke of wildfires were revealed, manifested in the offspring of the first generation in the form of impaired behavior and cognitive abilities. The recovery period after prolonged smoke intoxication, which is 60 days and is comparable in duration with the duration of spermatogenesis in rats, is important for reducing the risk of developing CNS disorders in offspring.

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This study aimed to follow the neurotoxic effect of peat smoke on adult outbred rats and its influence on central nervous system (CNS) parameters in first-generation offspring. Under experimental conditions, exposure to peat smoke was carried out on adult male Wistar rats for 24 h. After the end of the exposure, an open field test (OFT), electroencephalography (EEG), and histological analysis of the testes and brains of smoke-exposed males were performed, after which they were mated with intact females to obtain F1 offspring. Stillbirth, neonatal mortality, and body weight at 4, 7, 14, and 21 postnatal days, as well as behavior in the OFT and EEG parameters during puberty (3 months), were assessed. The results of the examination of F0 males showed a significant increase in motor activity and anxiety in the open field test and a violation of EEG parameters. Histopathologically, peat smoke caused a sharp increase in shadow cells (homogeneous cells with pale-stained cytoplasm, in which the cell and nuclear membranes are not visualized) and degeneratively altered neurons in the brain; we found no changes in the testicles. Peat smoke exposure during preconception did not affect neonatal mortality and weight gain in F1 offspring. Adult females born to peat-smoke-exposed males showed an increase in locomotor activity, and the behavior of adult F1 males did not differ from the control. In F1 males, a statistically significant increase in slow-wave activity indices in the delta band was observed.