Abstract
Nicotine exposure has been associated with an increased likelihood of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring of mothers who smoked during pregnancy. The goal of this study was to determine if exposure to E-cigarette nicotine vapors during late prenatal and early postnatal life altered behavior in adult mice.MethodsTimed-pregnant C57BL/6J mice were exposed to 2.4% nicotine in propylene glycol (PG) or 0% nicotine /PG once a day from gestational day 15 until delivery. After delivery, offspring and mothers were exposed to E-cigarette vapors for an additional 14 days from postnatal day 2 through 16. Following their last exposure serum cotinine levels were measured in female juvenile mice. Male mice underwent behavioral testing at 14 weeks of age to assess sensorimotor, affective, and cognitive functional domains.ResultsAdult male mice exposed to 2.4% nicotine/PG E-cigarette vapors had significantly more head dips in the zero maze test and higher levels of rearing activity in the open field test compared to 0% nicotine/PG exposed mice and untreated controls. In the water maze test after reversal training, the 2.4% nicotine/PG mice spent more than 25% of time in the new location whereas the other groups did not.ConclusionAdult male mice exhibited increased levels of activity in the zero maze and open field tests when exposed to E-cigarette vapor containing nicotine during late prenatal and early postnatal life. These findings indicate that nicotine exposure from E-cigarettes may cause persistent behavioral changes when exposure occurs during a period of rapid brain growth.
Highlights
Exposure to nicotine during fetal and/or postnatal life in animal and human studies has been associated with changes in adult behavior. [1,2,3] With the increasing popularity of E-cigarettes among people of child bearing age it is likely that offspring of E-cigarette users will be exposed during pregnancy and childhood to E-cigarette vapors that contain nicotine
Adult male mice exposed to 2.4% nicotine/propylene glycol (PG) E-cigarette vapors had significantly more head dips in the zero maze test and higher levels of rearing activity in the open field test compared to 0% nicotine/PG exposed mice and untreated controls
In the water maze test after reversal training, the 2.4% nicotine/PG mice spent more than 25% of time in the new location whereas the other groups did not
Summary
Exposure to nicotine during fetal and/or postnatal life in animal and human studies has been associated with changes in adult behavior. [1,2,3] With the increasing popularity of E-cigarettes among people of child bearing age it is likely that offspring of E-cigarette users will be exposed during pregnancy and childhood to E-cigarette vapors that contain nicotine. Using a murine model we were interested in determining if exposure to E-cigarette vapors that contain nicotine could lead to behavioral changes into adult mice when exposures occurred during a period of rapid brain growth. [6] [7] The goal of the study was to determine if exposure to E-cigarette nicotine vapors during a period of rapid brain growth was associated with behavioral changes in adult mice. To this end mice were exposed to E-cigarette vapors containing nicotine from gestational day 15–19 and from postnatal day 2 through 16. Male adult mice underwent behavioral testing at 14 weeks of age to assess sensorimotor, affective, and cognitive functional domains, with specific procedures carried out in each domain to encompass motor learning and general activity, tests of anxiety-like behaviors, and cognitive flexibility
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