Conditioned avoidance responses of young mice and offspring of mice treated with neuroleptic or mutagenic agents

Conditioned avoidance response (CAR) tests were used to determine the effects of perinatal exposure to three neuroleptic drugs and an antineoplastic agent in mice. In one experiment, mice were given sc injections of haloperidol at 1.25 mg/kg.d or trifluoperazine at 12.5 mg/kg.d for 2 wk, starting when they were 4 d old. In additional groups, nursing dams were given haloperidol at 5 mg/kg.d or trifluoperazine at 25 mg/kg.d for 2 wk during lactation. CAR tests were begun when offspring were 40 d of age. No statistically significant evidence of impairment in the learning ability of any group was found. In a second experiment, hybrid male mice were treated with a single ip injection of triflupromazine at 50 mg/kg or triethylenemelamine at 0.2 mg/kg and were mated 2, 4, and 6 wk after dosing. The male offspring were tested for learning ability at 40 d of age. No statistically significant differences in CAR values were observed in offspring of triflupromazine-treated males. CAR values of offspring of triethylenemelamine-treated males mated 4 wk after dosing were significantly higher than those of controls.