| Abstract: | Effect of serotonin (5-HT) deficit produced by administration ofp-chlorophenylalanine at a dose of 400 mg/kg to pregnant female mice on the day 8 of gestation and on the subsequent behavior of their offspring (hybrids F1 (C57BL/CBA)) was studied. The 5-HT deficit in prenatal ontogenesis leads to the following changes of behavior: 1) females and males of the experimental group show a higher level of the explorative activity in the "open field" than control animals; 2) in females of the experimental group at the age of 90 days, unlike control females and males of experimental and control groups, the explorative activity is extinguished at the threefold testing in the "open field"; 3) females of the experimental group have a decreased level of anxiety in tests "elevated plus-maze" and the "dark-light chamber". Males of the experimental group, on the contrary, have an elevated level of anxiety. The obtained data show that the 5-HT deficit at the prenatal period affects various aspects of behavior. The degree of the changes produced by the prenatal 5-HT deficit can have different manifestation depending on sex of the animals. |
