Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Determining The Critical Window Of Influence Of Pcb Perinatally On Behavioral And Hormonal Development In Sprague-Dawley Rat Pups, Natalie Sommerville, Lee A. Meserve, Howard C. Cromwell

Honors Projects

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) had widespread use in the United States in commercial manufacturing in the United States until the late 1970s. Even though they were banned, measurable amounts can still be found in the environment and food sources. PCB has known effects on altering hormone development and behavior in the species Rattus norvegicus. To determine the most crucial developmental time of exposure to PCB in Sprague-Dawley rat pups, rat pups were exposed to PCB at differing weeks of either gestation period or the first postnatal week. Behavioral tests were performed for the different rat pups, as well as blood …