Effects of lanthanum chloride administration in prenatal stage on one-trial passive avoidance learning in chicks

Abstract

Lanthanum cations (La 3+) are well known for their inhibitory actions on calcium channels. Prenatal lanthanum exposure may affect the development of embryo and alter the capacity for learning and memory in adults, and the one-trial passive avoidance learning paradigm with day-old chicks is an excellent model to study several mechanisms of memory formation. In the present study, we examined the effects of prenatal lanthanum chloride exposure on memory consolidation using one-trial passive avoidance learning task in day-old chicks. The data suggest that chicks injected with lanthanum chloride (2 mg/kg) daily from E9 to E16 had significantly impaired long-term memory at 120 min after training (p < 0.05) but not the chicks injected with lanthanum chloride (0.1 mg/kg) daily from E9 to E16.