Effects of Central Administration of Bisphenol A on Behaviors and Growth in Chicks

Abstract

We investigated the central effect of the estrogenic pollutant, bisphenol A (BPA), on behaviors, growth and several organ weights in chicks. Four-day-old male chicks were injected into the brain with BPA at doses of 0, 100, 200μg. Food intake and body weight gain were determined, but no significant effects of BPA were detected. Secondly, behaviors of these chicks were tested under an isolated situation. The behaviors such as frequency of jumping, distress vocalization and duration of crouching were monitored. Central injection of BPA increased distress vocalizations in a dose-dependent manner, though no significant changes were observed in other indices. Thereafter, four organ (testis, kidney, liver and brain) weights were measured. No significant differences in all the organs were detected among all treatments. These results suggest that the accumulation of BPA in the central nervous system may somewhat induce the behavioral change in a stressful situation.

Keywords

• bisphenol a
• central administration
• behavior
• chicks