PubMed · 7824593
Brain selenium status and behavioral development in selenium-deficient preweanling mice.
Abstract
The influence of Se deficiency on behavioral development in preweanling mice was evaluated. Female ICR mice were fed either Se-deficient or control diet (containing < 20 or 400 ng Se/g diet, respectively) from 4 weeks before conception to the end of the suckling period. In the offspring of Se-deficient dams, liver and brain Se levels were reduced to < 5% and 60% of those in the control offspring, respectively, from as early as the third postnatal day. At weaning, brain Se content exceeded the hepatic one in Se-deficient offspring, whereas in the control offspring the liver contained 10 times more Se than the brain did. Thus, tissue-specific metabolism of Se was already functioning during the neonatal period. When placed in a thermogradient and allowed to move along the gradient, Se-deficient offspring exhibited a preference for a significantly warmer environment than did the controls. They also showed slightly retarded development of walking ability. These results showed that Se-deficient offspring differed from the controls in behavioral development. Possible mechanisms of these alterations are discussed.
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C Watanabe, H Satoh. 1994. Brain selenium status and behavioral development in selenium-deficient preweanling mice.. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(94)90325-5
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