Prenatal LPS exposure increases offspring anxiety and improves learning reversion in a skinner task

Abstract

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been associated with adverse developmental outcome, including neurological injury and might contribute to the development of behavioral or neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and autism. This study investigated the relationships of perinatal administration of LPS on open field task (OPT), elevated plus maze (EPM) and on learning in the Skinner box (CB). For this, pregnant Wistar rats received intraperitoneal LPS (100µg/Kg) at the 9.5th day of pregnancy. Male offspring were evaluated in the sixty day after birth in the OPT, and in the ninety days of age in the EPM and CB test. In relation to control group, the results showed that LPS treatment: 1) an increased time and frequency of freezing and similar general activity in open field task; 2) a decreased time in the EPM open arms and 3) no difference in the time of the acquisition of learning but a shorter period of time to revert the learning in CB. Data from EPM and OPT revealed that LPS administered at GD 9.5 increased offspring anxiety and emotionality at adult age. These facts, probably, improved the time of learning reversion observed in the CB test.