Prolonged Inhibition of Motor Activity Following Repeated Exposure to Low Levels of Chemical Warfare Agent VX

Abstract : While neurobehavioral effects of acute exposure to toxic levels of chemical warfare nerve agents (CWNA) have been characterized; much less is known about the effects of repeated exposure to non-convulsive levels of CWNA. In Exp. 1, male mice that received repeated exposure (1/day x 5 days/wk x 2 wk) to 0.4 LD50 of the nerve agent VX had much lower activity in the home cage, relative to saline treated mice, with activity levels gradually reaching that of control by 6 weeks post-exposure. In Exp. 2, repeated exposure to 0.2 LD50 and 0.4 LD50 VX in male and female mice reduced activity in a novel open-field test 10 days following the last VX exposure. These findings indicate long-term performance deficits following exposure to non-convulsive levels of VX.