Hormones influence neurodevelopment which can result in vulnerability to endocrine disruptors such as phthalates during both the perinatal period and adolescence. Using a rat model, we have previously shown that perinatal exposure to an environmentally relevant phthalate mixture at low doses results in cognitive flexibility deficits in adults and a reduction in neuron and synapse number within the medial prefrontal cortex. Here, we further examined the behavioral effects of exposure to an environmentally relevant mixture of phthalates at low doses during either perinatal development or adolescence. Using the elevated plus maze, adult females, not males, exposed to phthalates during adolescence showed indications of reduced anxiety-like behavior while perinatal exposed animals were unaffected. There was no effect of adolescent phthalate exposure on cognitive flexibility using the attentional set shift paradigm in either sex, unlike the impairments we have previously reported following perinatal exposure (Kougias et al., 2018b). Finally, there was no effect of phthalate exposure during either time frame on sensorimotor gating measured using prepulse inhibition. Environmentally relevant phthalate exposure during the perinatal period or during adolescence did not induce widespread changes in the adult behaviors measured here.

中文翻译：

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在围产期或青春期暴露于低剂量邻苯二甲酸酯混合物的成年大鼠的行为影响。

激素影响神经发育，这可能导致围产期和青春期容易受到内分泌干扰物（如邻苯二甲酸酯）的伤害。使用大鼠模型，我们先前已经表明，围产期暴露于低剂量的环境相关邻苯二甲酸酯混合物会导致成年人认知柔韧性下降，并减少内侧前额叶皮层神经元和突触数量。在这里，我们进一步检查了围产期发育或青春期低剂量接触环境相关的邻苯二甲酸酯混合物的行为影响。使用高架迷宫，成年雌性而不是雄性在青春期暴露于邻苯二甲酸盐时，表现出焦虑样行为减少的迹象，而围产期暴露的动物则不受影响。使用注意力集移范式在男女中都没有青少年邻苯二甲酸酯暴露对认知灵活性的影响，这与我们先前报道的围产期暴露后的损伤不同（Kougias等人，2018b）。最后，在任何时间范围内邻苯二甲酸盐暴露对使用预脉冲抑制测量的感觉运动门控都没有影响。在围产期或青春期，与环境有关的邻苯二甲酸酯暴露并未引起此处测量的成人行为的广泛变化。