Effects of perinatal chlordiazepoxide exposure on rat preweaning and postweaning behavior

The effects of perinatal chlordiazepoxide (CDZ) exposure were studied in 3 to 30 day old F344 rats. Pregnant primaparous rats were treated daily on days 1-21 of pregnancy with CDZ (1 mg/kg) or saline (IP). Lactating females were treated with CDZ or saline in order to expose pups on postnatal days 1-21. Behavioral measures on all litters included: cliff avoidance (postnatal days 4-10), swimming (postnatal days 6-10), open field activity (postnatal days 14 and 21) and active avoidance (beginning postnatal day 30). Neonates perinatally exposed to CDZ were significantly slower in cliff avoidance development as measured by latency to meet criterion. Swimming development was impaired by both prenatal and postnatal CDZ exposure. Open field activity was minimally affected on day 14 but only for males exposed postnatally to CDZ. Postnatal CDZ exposure significantly affected active avoidance performance as reflected in faster response latencies and an increased number of avoidance responses to reach criterion for extinction. Only the postnatally exposed male pups were significantly affected on the avoidance behavior. These results are consistent with the suggestion that CDZ is a potential behavioral teratogen.