LOCOMOTOR-ACTIVITY AND POSTNATAL-DEVELOPMENT OF RATS AFTER EXPOSURE TO 2,3,7,8-TCDD DURING THE LATE FETAL AND EARLY POSTNATAL-PERIOD

Postnatal physical development and locomotor activity was studied in offspring of Wistar rats exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in the late fetal and early postnatal period. The dosing schedule used caused a slight delay in development, as evaluated by a reduced body weight gain during the 2nd to 4th week of th, study. No significant differences in the locomotor activity between controls and TCDD-exposed offspring were detectable under our experimental conditions. The same holds true for the signs of physical development when the slight delay in postnatal development was taken into consideration.