Abstract: The effect of Bisphenol-A on the brain and behavioral development has attracted extensive attention. This study was to investigate the anxiety and depressive behaviors of adult offspring mice following maternal exposed to BPA (0.4 or 4 mg/kg/day) from gestation day 7 (GD 7) to GD 20 or postnatal day (PND) 1 to PND 14. The anxiety behavior of BPA-treated mice on PND 56 were tested using open field, dark-light transition, mirrored maze, and elevated plus maze; and depressive behavior was tested using forced swim task. The results showed that, both gestational and lactational exposure to BPA increased anxiety in both sexes of adult offspring but the effect pattern was different due to the exposure period and gender. The females those gestational exposed to BPA exhibited an increased anxiety in all of the 4 models, while the females those lactational exposed to BPA and the males of gestational or lactational exposure to BPA exhibited an increased anxiety in 2 of the 4 models. Gestational exposure to BPA significantly prolonged the immobile time in the forced swim test of both sexes of offspring, and the same effect was induced by lactational exposure to BPA only at 4 mg/kg/day. Furthermore, Western blot analyses showed that gestational or lactational exposure to BPA significantly inhibited the expression of AMPA receptor subunit GluR1 in the hippocampus and amygdale. These results suggest that both gestational and lactational exposure BPA increased anxiety and depression in both sexes of adult offspring mice, and gestational exposure to BPA has stronger effect on the anxiety and depression. The inhibition of GluR1 level in the hippocampus and amygdale might be associated with the BPA-induced anxiety and depressive behaviors of adult offspring mice.

Key words: bisphenol-A, anxiety, depression, gestational, lactational