Abstract
Open waste dump sites are a common spectacle in Nigeria. These sites may cause neurotoxicity to people dwelling in their vicinity. Hence, the present study investigated the effects of long-term habitation at the vicinity of refuse dump sites on motor, mood and cognitive behaviours in rats, as well as on cerebellar histology. Young adult male Wistar rats, approximately 70 days old, were used for this study. Rats were housed in the vicinity of a refuse dump site for 8 months. At the end of 8 months rats were subjected to neurobehavioural studies in the open-field test (OFT), elevated-plus maze (EPM) and Morris water maze (MWM). Following behavioural studies, the cerebellum was excised and prepared for routine Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining protocol. Results showed significant difference (p<0.05) on motor parameters of the OFT between exposed rats and control. Also, exposed rats showed significantly lower (P<0.05) % time in open arms on the EPM, and significantly higher (p<0.001) latency in the MWM. Histological studies revealed alterations to the cerebellar white core as well as degenerative changes of the Purkinje cells. This study therefore shows that long-term habitation in the vicinity of refuse dump site may be injurious to brain structures accompanied with behavioural defects. Key words: Refuse dump, behaviour, motor, cerebellum, rats.
Highlights
It is unavoidable that waste will continuously be generated by human population
Waste management, which consists of generation, collection, processing, transport, and disposal of solid waste is of huge importance for both environmental and public reasons (Porta et al, 2009)
Analysis of behavioural studies in the Open-field test (OFT) showed that exposed rats had significantly lower line crossings compared to control rats (P
Summary
It is unavoidable that waste will continuously be generated by human population. Management of these wastes is a global challenge (Kadafa et al., 2013). The major methods of waste management include recycling, composting, sewage treatment, incineration and landfill (Rushton, 2003). Considered as among the best practices of waste management, these methods have been shown to pose various health challenges (Rushton, 2003; Pheby et al, 2002). Landfill is the most commonly adopted practice of waste disposal (Alimba et al, 2012)
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