Effects of neonatal lead exposure on memory in rats

Five groups of rats exposed to varying doses of lead by gastric intubation from Day 3 to Day 30 of life were tested to determine whether lead affects memory. A variable intertrial interval spatial alternation task was used to examine memory; it permits generation of a complete retention curve within subjects in a single session. Because of lead's putative effects on the cholinergic neuronal system, the cholinergic drugs controls to the drugs and to compare drug effects with lead effects. Orderly memory functions were obtained in all animals; however lead-exposed groups did not differ in performance from controls. Scoopolamine decreased alternation accuracy but its effects did not differ across the neonatal dose groups.