The effect of early postnatal hypoxia on the development of locomotor activity in rats.

Rats exposed to an intermittent long-term hypoxia in the early postnatal life show a marked hyperactivity in the open field test at day 15 and 38 of life. This effect disappears during maturity. The spontaneous nocturnal activity of adult animals oxygen deprived postnatally was found to be elevated. These results may be a possible consequence of the hypoxic injury during the growth spurt period of neuronal systems which play an important role in the control of locomotor behaviour. The method used and the results obtained seem to meet some requirements of an animal model for symptoms associated with the syndrome referred to as "Minimal Brain Dysfunction".