Altered adult behavior following chronic drug administration during infancy and prepuberty.

Abstract

That an altered environment during development can effect altered behavior during adulthood has been reliably shown for a variety of experimental conditions and behavioral dimensions (Bovard, 1958;Hebb, 1958). In this study 5s were administered drugs which could alter the magnitude of the stimulus input and the nature of the internal milieu. On the assumption that the manipulations were consistent with the postulated mechanisms of early-experience effects (cf. Berlyne, 1960;Meier, 1960), the 5s' adult behaviors were examined for the changes seen in other earlyexperience studies in accord with the direction of the chemical change. METHOD SubjectsSix litters of 3-day-old Long-Evans rats were each divided into three groups designated, according to drug administered: Ei (reserpine), Ez (deanol), and C (control: isotonic saline). At this time, the groups numbered 17, 16, and 16 5s, respectively; at the time of testing they numbered 13, 14, and 11 5s, respectively. The ratio of males to females was 7:6, 7:7, and 3:8.The rearing cages of all groups were the same: sheet metal, drawer-type cages fitted with wire mesh tops and measuring 14 in. by 16 in. by 7 in. deep. Standard laboratory, wire-mesh cages, 9 in. by 8 in. by 7 in. deep, were used after weaning at 24 days, when 5s were assigned 2 or 3 of like sex to a cage. These cages had sheet metal sides, backs, and tops with wire mesh fronts and bottoms. ApparatusEmotionality. The apparatus for the measurement of emotionality consisted of a 30-in.-square field covered with gray oilcloth, with ruled lines marking off 6-in. squares. A 12-in.-high gray wall surrounded the field and two 100-w. incandescent bulbs illuminated it.Discrimination. The discrimination apparatus (Grice) has already been described (Meier & McGee, 1958). Briefly, it consisted of a start box and V-shaped discrimination chamber and three identical exposed goal boxes which could be shifted so that the discriminanda in the boxes appeared at the left or the right in a

Neonatal locomotor and long‐term behavioral effects of d‐amphetamine in the rat

“…(3) The determination of whether stimulation of noradrenergic brain function in the neonatal rat would have carryover effects on adult behavior. Although a variety of pharinacologic agents administered during the infancy period have been shown to affect 242 SOBRIAN, WELTMAN, AND PAPPAS adult behavior (e.g., Hole, 1972;Lehtinen, Hyyppa, & Lampinen, 1972;Meier & Huff, 1962), previous research in this laboratory has indicated no carryover effect of neonatal amphetamine upon adult activity, open field, and passive avoidance behavior (Sobrian & Pappas, 1973) although adult brain norepinephrine levels were increased. These data indicate that biochemically immature brain tissue is sensitive to permanent alteration by d-amphetamine, although we were not able to detect behavioral consequences of this alteration.…”

Developmental psychopharmacology: A beginning.

“…The genotype of the dog (terrier versus beagle) was also an important variable. Meier and Huff (1962) injected daily doses of reserpine, deanol, and saline for 40 days in neonatal rats. Later behavioral measures included the open-field test, Grice discrimination test, and the Lashley III maze.…”

Effects of chronic postnatal drug administration on adult dominance behavior in two genera of mice

“…There is, however, a relative paucity of information describing the effects of drugs, as a means of altering early experience, on adult behavioral patterns. That drug administration in infancy can have a marked influence on the behavior of mature organisms has been demonstrated by Meier and Huff (1962), Doty and Doty (1963), Heimstra and Sallee (1965), and recently by Gauron and Rowly (1968), andUehling (1969). These authors have shown that, in rats, early chronic administration of a variety of centrally acting drugs, e.g., chlorpromazine, reserpine, deanol, thioridazine, amphetamine, etc., leads to pronounced and persistent effects on many adult behaviors including degree of emotionality, dominance, discrimination, and adaptive problem-solving activities.…”