Neurochemical effects in rats following gestational exposure to styrene.

Styrene was evaluated for the reproductive effects of pregnant rats and the neurochemical effects in the offspring of rats exposed during gestation. Pregnant Wistar rats were exposed to 0, 50, or 300 ppm styrene for 6 h/day during days 7 to 21 of gestation. No significant differences in the number of offspring delivered were observed between the exposed and control groups. Body weights at 1 day of age of the offspring whose mothers were exposed to styrene were significantly lower than those of the control group. Although, there were neither statistically significant differences of protein contents nor brain weights among styrene-exposed and their control offsprings of rats, analyses of neurotransmitter studies showed dose-dependent decreases of neuroamines, especially 5-HT (serotonin) and its metabolite 5HIAA (5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid) in the newborn offspring of styrene-exposed rats. The results suggest that gestational exposure to styrene at these concentrations does not produce apparent reproductive toxicity but affects the body weight of pups and causes lowering of the neurotransmitter levels in the brain.