Peripubertal exposure of atrazine cause decrease in exploratory activity, deficits in sociability and few alterations on brain monoaminergic systems of rats

Atrazine is a pesticide used to control weeds in both in pre- and post-emergence crops. The chronic exposure to atrazine can lead to severe damage in animals, especially in the endocrine and reproduction systems, leading to the inclusion of this pesticide into the endocrine disrupting chemicals group. Studies with rats showed that atrazine exposure during lactation in dams caused changes in the juvenile offspring, however; there is still limited information regarding the effects of atrazine during puberty. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of peripubertal exposure of atrazine in rats, assessing motor activity, social behavior and neurochemical alterations. Juvenile rats were treated with different doses of atrazine (0, 10, 30 or 100 mg/kg) by gavage from postnatal day 22 to 41. Behavioral tests were conducted for the evaluation of motor activity and social behavior, and neurochemical evaluation was done in order to assess monoamine levels. Atrazine caused behavioral alterations, evidenced by decrease in the exploratory activity (p values variation between 0.05 and 0.0001) and deficits in the social behavior of both male and females as adults (p values variation between 0.01 and 0.0001). As for the monoaminergic neurotransmission, atrazine led to very few alterations on the dopamine and serotonin systems that were limited to the females (p < 0.05). Altogether, the results suggests that peripubertal exposure of atrazine cause behavioral and neurochemical alterations. More studies need to be conducted to fully understand the differences in atrazine's effects and its use should be considered carefully.