The effects of neurochemical lesioning of dopaminergic terminals in early ontogenesis on behavior in adult rats.

6-Hydroxydopamine, which induces selective degeneration of the dopaminergic system of the brain, was given intraamniotically to rats on days 13 and 17 of intrauterine development at a dose of 75 microg/fetus. Similar experiments were performed with 6-hydroxydopamine on days 4 and 10 of neonatal life. Rats were subsequently reared and motor and emotional (dopamine-dependent) types of behavior were studied in adulthood, addressing behavior in the open field test, rotatory behavior, anxiety in an elevated cross maze, a place-preference conditioned response, acquisition of the ability to differentiate new and old arms in a Y maze, aggressivity in the "foreigner-resident" test, and self-stimulation in a Skinner box. Prenatal exposure, to a lesser extent than postnatal exposure, initiated rotatory and stereotypical behavior, decreased the level of anxiety (fear) in the elevated maze, and reinforced the effects of phenamine in the conditioned place-preference test, impaired the differentiation of old and new Y-maze arms, impaired aggressivity in the "foreigner-resident" test, and impaired self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus. It is concluded that the early postnatal period of development is more sensitive to the action of this neurotoxin than the prenatal period. This is associated with the critical periods of the formation of the dopaminergic system during ontogenesis, which depend on synaptogenesis.