Autonomic-cardiovascular dysfunction accompanies sensory-motor impairment during acrylamide intoxication

We investigated the effects of acrylamide monomer on autonomic-cardiovascular functions and simple sensory-motor behaviors. Rats were intoxicated by ip injections of acrylamide at a dose of 50 mg/kg/day for 10 days; control animals received an equivalent volume of saline. Heart rate (HR) and systolic arterial blood pressure (BP) were measured using the method of indirect tail plethysmography. Intoxicated animals showed fluctuating but significant increases in HR and BP after the first dose of acrylamide, during the course of the intoxication, and two days after the last dose. Deficits in sensory-motor behaviors appeared after the first dose of acrylamide and progressed steadily throughout the exposure period, remaining two days after the last dose. More complex sensory-motor behaviors were affected earliest; hindlimb functions were affected before forelimb functions, characteristic of dying-back axonopathy. These results demonstrate that acrylamide alters common measures of autonomic-cardiovascular functioning in addition to simple sensory-motor behaviors.