Assessment of the Central Effects of Natural Uranium via Behavioural Performances and the Cerebrospinal Fluid Metabolome

Figure 6

Total activity, spatial working memory, anxiety-like behaviour, medium-term memory, and depressive-like behaviour of female rats exposed to NU at 40 mg⋅L⁻¹ from birth for 9 months. (a1) shows the number of lines crossed, reflecting locomotor activity. The number of rearings is presented in (a2) and reflects exploratory activity. (b1) shows the number of arm entries in the Y-maze and reflects locomotor activity. (b2) shows the alternation between arms, expressed as a percentage (%), in the Y-maze and reflects spatial working memory. (c1) shows the number of visits to the closed arms of the elevated plus maze and reflects locomotor activity. (c2) shows the time spent, expressed in seconds (s), in the closed arms of the elevated plus maze and reflects anxiety level. (d) shows the time spent on the familiar or new objects during the second session expressed in seconds (s) and reflects medium-term memory. (e) shows the time of immobility expressed in seconds (s) and reflects the depression level. Results are expressed as mean ± SEM for control and exposed animals to 40 mg⋅L⁻¹ NU; /group; NU: natural uranium. , significant difference from control. , significant difference from familiar object.