Opposite short-term changes induced by an organophosphate in cortical and hippocampal evoked activity

Organophosphates are the most widely used pesticides throughout the world. The considerable amount brought out to the environment poses a risk on the whole population. As organophosphates are neurotoxic substances and their residues can persist in the environment for several weeks, their influence on the nervous system of humans and animals is of principal interest. In the present study, we investigated the alterations induced by dichlorvos, a common pesticide substance, in parameters of somatosensory evoked potentials and hippocampal evoked population spikes of rats. The changes of the cortical vs. hippocampal evoked responses were opposite and only hippocampal effects could be directly explained through an increased cholinergic activity.