EDCs Reorganize Brain-Behavior Phenotypic Relationships in Rats
Morgan E Hernandez Scudder1, Rebecca L Young2, Lindsay M Thompson3
1Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
Journal of the Endocrine Society
|April 30, 2021
Summary
Prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like PCBs and vinclozolin alters social behavior in rats. These EDCs disrupt gene pathways in key brain regions, affecting sociosexual preferences in a sex-specific manner.
Area of Science:
- Neuroendocrinology
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Toxicology
Background:
- Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants.
- EDCs are known to cause behavioral deficits impacting social competence and sexual selection.
- Neuromolecular mechanisms underlying EDC-induced behavioral changes remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that prenatal EDC exposure disrupts social preference behavior in rats.
- To identify the underlying gene pathways in brain regions regulating social behaviors affected by EDCs.
- To explore sex-specific effects of EDC exposure on gene expression and behavior.
Main Methods:
- Rats were exposed prenatally to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), vinclozolin (VIN), or vehicle.
- Adult rats underwent a sociosexual preference test.
- Gene expression profiling was conducted in the preoptic area, medial amygdala, and ventromedial nucleus.
Main Results:
- Prenatal PCBs impaired sociosexual preference in both male and female rats.
- Vinclozolin disrupted sociosexual preference in male rats.
- EDC exposure altered gene expression in a sex- and brain region-specific manner, impacting the gene-behavior relationship.
Conclusions:
- Developmental exposure to EDCs significantly affects adult social behavior.
- Responses to EDCs exhibit sex-specific and individual variation.
- Findings provide a basis for understanding EDC-induced disruption of gene-behavior networks.
