Prepulse inhibition

Lead exposure

Biology

Surgery

Endocrinology

Toxicant

Psychiatry

Lead acetate

Lead (geology)

Environmental health

Physiology

Paleontology

Genetics

Schizophrenia (object-oriented programming)

CATS

Toxicity

Patella

Internal medicine

Prospective cohort study

Medicine

Lead poisoning

Pregnancy

ISEE Conference Abstracts

Background: An important concern is the toxic legacy of prenatal lead exposure. During pregnancy, maternal skeletal bone lead from earlier exposures mobilizes and crosses placental barriers placing the developing fetus at risk for lead exposure and subsequent neurobehavioral deficits. Some of the neuronal circuits implicated in mechanisms of neurodevelopment can be probed with simple physiological behavioral paradigms, potentially serving as a neurobehavioral marker of toxicant exposure. One such measure includes pre-pulse inhibition (PPI), a sensorimotor gating process that can modify the acoustic startle reflex (ASR) under different behavioral conditions. PPI impairment has been associated with neurodevelopmental deficits in children such as ADHD and early psychosis. To our knowledge, no studies have examined the effect of prenatal lead concentrations on PPI in children.Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of prenatal bone lead concentrations on PPI in Mexican children 8-17 years of age.Methods: In vivo maternal bone lead measurements were taken at four weeks postpartum at the mid-tibia shaft and the patella using a K-Shell X-ray fluorescence (K-XRF) instrument. PPI responses were recorded in an isolated clinical setting and eye blink responses were assessed using electromyography. We used ordinary least squares regression adjusted for relevant covariates to model the relationship between prenatal bone lead and PPI.Results: Mean &amp;#177; SD lead concentrations in tibia and patella were 9.33 &amp;#177;10.00 &amp;#956;g/g, and 12.27 &amp;#177; 12.17 respectively. In adjusted models, higher tibia bone lead significantly reduced PPI in children. Patella lead concentrations were independent of PPI.Conclusions: In this population of Mexican children, prenatal tibia lead concentrations were associated with impaired PPI. These results suggest that lead may disrupt PPI, which could be a biological indicator of neurodevelopmental deficits in children.

The Effect of Prenatal Bone Lead Concentrations on Prepulse Inhibition: A Prospective Study of Mexican Children