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Biomedical subjects

T F Massaro

Publications and source records attributed to T F Massaro.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Interactions between lead and essential elements: a review.

Young children are especially susceptible to the toxic effects of lead. Although the effects of overt lead intoxication have been well studied, critical information on the long-term effects of low level lead exposure is lacking. The results of recent clinical studies indicate that "chronic" low level lead exposure during development can result in behavioral alterations in the absence of overt neurotoxicity. The perturbation of central nervous system functioning may be the result of essential mineral deficiencies resulting from lead-induced impairment of mineral availability and/or an increased sensitivity to lead in the absence of adequate levels of essential minerals. This article reviews research undertaken to examine the interactions between calcium, iron, zinc, copper and lead with reference to how this may impact central nervous system functioning.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Early protein malnutrition in the rat: behavioral changes during rehabilitation.

Behavioral development was studied in 2 groups of rats during the postweaning period. Pups were selected from litters nursed by dams fed either a standard protein (25% casein by weight) or a low protein diet (12% casein) during lactation. Two pups from each litter were housed together and fed the control diet throughout rehabilitation. Behavioral observations were made by repeated time-lapse photography at 5-day intervals. Differences in home cage behavior were observed at the onset of rehabilitation in the postnatally malnourished rats. Increased feeding behavior was observed during the 1st week of rehabilitation. Locomotor behavior was depressed during the rehabilitation period in the experimental animals. Climbing activity, however, was significantly greater. Self-grooming activity was elevated throughout rehabilitation in post-natally malnourished animals. During the course of rehabilitation, the behavioral differences between the 2 groups gradually disappeared.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Protein malnutrition induced during gestation: its effect on pup development and maternal behavior.

Repeated time-lapse photographic observations were used to examine the ontogeny of behavioral development in prenatally malnourished rat pups following birth. Pups born to dams receiving a low protein diet (7% casein by weight) were fostered at birth to well-nourished dams and behavioral observations were made at 4-day intervals. Dams nursing gestationally malnourished pups were observed to spend more time in the nesting area with their pups towards the end of lactation. Moreover, the behavioral development (locomotion, feeding, and rearing and climbing activity) of gestationally malnourished offspring was depressed when compared to their controls. The results indicate that prenatal undernutrition alters the behavioral development of the offspring and maternal behavior of the dam in a manner which reduces the exposure of the pup to the immediate environment.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Maternal malnutrition and the neonatal environment.

Altered behavioral development was observed in suckling rats from dams fed a low protein diet either during gestation or during the lactation period. Lactational malnutrition markedly depressed all behaviors displayed by the suckling young. These included litter fragmentation, pup climbing, rearing, feeding, and drinking behavior. Although less severe, pups from a dam fed a deficient diet during gestation displayed the same altered behavioral development. Moreover, small birth weight pups born from well-nourished dams also showed delayed behavioral development. Contact with pups was increased in dams who were malnourished during the lactation period or who were nursing pups from dams malnourished during the gestation period. Results support in part the hypothesis that malnourished early in life "functionally isolates" the developing animal from its immediate environment.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Low-level lead exposure affects latent learning in the rat.

Neonatal rats were administered intragastrically either lead acetate (50 mg Pb/kg-BW) or an equal molar solution of sodium acetate at days 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 postpartum. At 33 days of age, each animal began a training sequence to develop maze running skills. Animals within each treatment group, i.e., lead exposed (Pb), control vehicle (CV), and control nonhandled (CNH) were assigned randomly to either latent learning or open-field testing groups. The former individually explored a symmetrical maze while satiated; the latter were exposed to an apparatus devoid of barriers. All animals were then food deprived and appetitively tested in the latent learning maze. The Pb, CV, and CNH animals naive to the maze did not differ in maze performance. The CV and CNH animals that previously experienced the maze committed fewer errors than non-experienced counterparts. Pb treated animals showed no evidence of a positive transfer effect of their earlier experience.

Animals↗