[Spontaneous motor activity in mice overloaded with iron-dextran]

We studied the spontaneous motor activity and the levels of iron in brain (frontal cortex and striatum) and liver of mice overloaded with iron dextran. Two groups of mice injected intraperitoneally with two different doses of iron and the control group were used. We found a significant increase in the spontaneous motor activity only for the experimental group treated with the highest dose of iron. In frontal cortex and striatum the concentration of iron did not augment in the experimental groups. However, in liver we detected a highly significant rise in the iron content of both experimental groups. Our results suggest that the increase in the spontaneous motor activity observed in mice injected with the highest dose is not directly caused by changes in the iron concentration in the brain.