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Published on: March 21, 2021
The impairment of one-trial passive avoidance learning in chicks caused by prenatal aluminum exposure
Rui Xing1, Zhaomin Zhong, Hongbing Ma
1College of Preclinical Medicine and Biological Science, Soochow University, Suzhou Jiangsu Province 215123, PR China.
Insights
Prenatal aluminum chloride exposure in chick embryos impaired memory consolidation. Even low doses affected long-term memory, while higher doses impacted short, intermediate, and long-term memory.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Toxicology
- Animal Models
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to toxins like aluminum may impact cognitive development.
- The chick embryo model offers a controlled environment to study developmental neurotoxicity, free from maternal influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of prenatal aluminum chloride exposure on memory consolidation in developing chicks.
- To determine dose-dependent effects of aluminum on different memory phases.
Main Methods:
- Chicks received daily prenatal aluminum chloride injections (2, 20, 200 mM) from embryonic day 12 to 15.
- A one-trial passive avoidance learning task was used to assess memory consolidation in day-old chicks.
Main Results:
- Prenatal exposure to 20 mM aluminum chloride significantly impaired short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term memory (LTM).
- Exposure to 2 mM aluminum chloride impaired only long-term memory (LTM).
Conclusions:
- Prenatal aluminum exposure negatively affects cognitive functions, specifically memory consolidation, in a dose-dependent manner.
- The chick embryo model is suitable for studying the neurodevelopmental effects of environmental toxins.
Abstract:
Prenatal aluminum exposure may affect the development of the embryo and alter the capacity for learning and memory in adults. The chick embryo is a good experimental model to study the effect of prenatal toxin exposure on cognitive defects in offspring, because it eliminates maternal confounding variables. In the present study, we applied a one-trial passive avoidance-learning task in day-old chicks to examine the effects of prenatal aluminum chloride injections (2, 20, and 200 mM in 200 µl per egg, daily over a period of 4 successive days) on memory consolidation. The data suggest that chicks injected with aluminum chloride (20 mM) daily from E12 to E15 had significantly impaired short-term memory, intermediate-term memory, and long-term memory (LTM) after training (p < .05) but chicks injected with aluminum chloride (2 mM) had impaired LTM only.
