NEUROBEHAVIOURAL ALTERATIONS AFTER EXPOSURE TO A GLYPHOSATE-BASED HERBICIDE DURING PREGNANCY AND LACTATION

FERNANDA GUMILAR; MARIANA BARTOS; ALEJANDRA MINETTI; CRISTINA GALLEGOS; MARTA ANTONELLI

Copenhagen

Simposio; FENS satellite symposium; 2016

The massive influx of genetically modified crops resistant to glyphosate (Gly) inArgentina is the main reason why the most widely marketed herbicides withinthis country are those containing Gly in their formula. Pesticides are postulated asthe main environmental factor associated with the etiology of neurodegenerativedisorders, such as Parkinson?s and Alzheimer?s disease. However, the impact ofsub-lethal doses of herbicides on human health and the environment is a matterof controversy. Due to the fact that evidence particularly of the effects of Glyon the central nervous system of rat offspring by in utero exposure is scarce, thepurpose of the present study was to assess the neurobehavioral effects of chronicexposure to a glyphosate-containing herbicide during pregnancy and lactation.To this end, pregnant Wistar rats were exposed through drinking water to 0.2%or 0.4% of a commercial formulation of Gly (corresponding to a concentrationof 0.65 or 1.30 g/L of Gly, respectively) during pregnancy and lactation andneurobehavioral alterations in offspring were analyzed. The postnatal day onwhich each pup acquired neonatal reflexes (righting, cliff aversion and negativegeotaxis) and that on which eyes and auditory canals were fully opened wererecorded for the assessment of sensorimotor development. Locomotor activity andanxiety levels were monitored via open field test and plus maze test, respectively,in 45- and 90-day-old offspring. Pups exposed to a Gly-based herbicide showedearly onset of cliff aversion reflex and early auditory canal opening. A decrease inlocomotor activity and in anxiety levels was also observed in the groups exposedto a Gly-containing herbicide. Findings from the present study reveal that earlyexposure to a Gly-based herbicide affects the central nervous system in ratoffspring probably by altering mechanisms or neurotransmitter systems thatregulate locomotor activity and anxiety, such as GABAergic, dopaminergic and/orserotoninergic pathways.