Abstract
Abstract; Levels of biogenic amines and activities of monoamine oxidase and acetylcholine esterase were investigated in developing rat brain following acryla-mide (ACR) exposure. The ACR exposed rats showed a significant reduction in noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) contents at 4, 8 and 15 days of age whereas the adult animals exhibited no such changes. Exposure of rats to ACR resulted in decrease of NA levels in basal ganglia, pons medulla and mid brain regions and of DA in cerebellum, mid brain, pons medulla and hypothalamus in age groups (12, 15 and 21 days). The 15 and 21 days old treated rats also showed a marked reduction in 5-HT content in pons medulla, hypothalamus and cerebral cortex. Exposure to ACR of 2, 4, 8 and 15 days old rats resulted in an increase in monoamine oxidase activity and decrease in acetyl-choline esterase activity in brain. These results suggest that suckling and growing rats are more vulnerable to neurotoxic effects of ACR and such effects are not uniform in brain but are localized to certain brain regions which regulate motor activity and behaviour.
