Inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase by chlorpyrifos in juvenile rats results in altered exploratory and social behavior as adolescents.

The organophosphorus insecticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) is suspected to cause developmental neurotoxicity in children leading to long term effects. Developmental exposure of rat pups to CPF at low levels disrupts degradation of the brain endocannabinoids through the inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and decreases the reactivity of juvenile rats in an emergence test. In this study, we further investigated the effects of developmental CPF exposure on behavior but also included exposure to PF-04457845, a specific inhibitor of FAAH, for comparison of behavior altered by FAAH inhibition with behavior altered by CPF.