The Effect of Intrauterine Antipsychotic Drug Exposure on Learning and Memory in Adult Rats

Objective: The effects of antipsychotic drugs, of whose different classes can be used in the treatment of patients with resistant to schizophrenia, on the fetus and the benefits of the treatment to the mother should be taken into consideration before making a decision about initiating treatment. This study aimed to examine the effects of prenatal exposure to various antipsychotic agents on learning and memory in adult rats. Method: In this study, antipsychotic drugs from different chemical classes (2 mg/kg haloperidol, 100 mg/kg thioridazine, 200 mg/kg sulpiride, 20 mg/kg chlorprothixene, 40 mg/kg clozapine, 10 mg/kg fluphenazine, 20 mg/kg chlorpromazine) and water for the control group were administered to pregnant Sprague-Dawley dams through gavage during the pregnancy period. In total, 16 groups were created and tested in the Morris water maze by dividing offspring of eight mother rats into male and female rat groups (n=10) on postpartum day 60. Learning was tested with hidden platform task and memory was tested with probe test. Results: It has been observed that learning was impaired in the male and female groups that received haloperidol, sulpiride, chlorprothixene, clozapine, and chlorpromazine, as well as in the female groups receiving fluphenazine and thioridazine. Thigmotaxis is the time spent on 10 cm perimeter of the walls of the pool. Thigmotaxis values of all groups were still higher except for the male group of thioridazine on fifth day. Conclusion: These results show that when prenatal exposure to antipsychotics occurs, it causes impairment in the realization of task of finding escape platform properly, rather than affecting learning and memory functions, specifically in their adulthood so that high thigmotaxis may be the reason for deterioration in escape latency parameter.