Hypoactivity and neurochemical alterations in the basal ganglia of female Sprague-Dawley rats after repeated exposure to atrazine.

The herbicide atrazine (ATR) has been one of the most widely used herbicides worldwide. However, due to its indiscriminate use, it has been considered an environmental contaminant. Several studies have classified ATR as an endocrine disruptor, and it has been found to have neurotoxic effects on behavior, along with alterations in the dopaminergic, GABAergic, and glutamatergic systems in the basal ganglia of male rodents.

Risk-taking, locomotor activity and dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex in male rats treated prenatally with alcohol.

Background: Prenatal alcohol exposure (PA) restricted to days 8-20 of rat gestation reduces the activity of the dopaminergic neurons (DA) in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Hyperactivity and impulsivity have been observed under this treatment; however, it is unknown whether DA levels are affected. Decision-making in risk situations, meanwhile, has been associated with impulsive behavior, but because studies of this phenomenon in animal models are limited, we do not yet know whether PA has any effect.

Atrazine is primarily responsible for the toxicity of long-term exposure to a combination of atrazine and inorganic arsenic in the nigrostriatal system of the albino rat.

Chronic and simultaneous exposure to a variety of chemicals present in the environment is an unavoidable fact. However, given the complexity of studying chemical mixtures, most toxicological studies have focused on the effects of short-term exposure to single substances. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects on the nigrostriatal system of the chronic, simultaneous exposure to two widely distributed substances that have been identified as potential dopaminergic system toxicants, inorganic arsenic (iAs) and atrazine (ATR).

Chronic exposure to low levels of inorganic arsenic causes alterations in locomotor activity and in the expression of dopaminergic and antioxidant systems in the albino rat.

Several studies have associated chronic arsenicism with decreases in IQ and sensory and motor alterations in humans. Likewise, studies of rodents exposed to inorganic arsenic ((i)As) have found changes in locomotor activity, brain neurochemistry, behavioral tasks, oxidative stress, and in sensory and motor nerves. In the current study, male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to environmentally relevant doses of (i)As (0.