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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Young animals treated with commonly prescribed drugs to treat epilepsy, mood disorders and pain develop behavioral abnormalities in adulthood, according to researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC).
Studies have previously shown that neurons die after these drugs are administered to immature animals. They say the regions of the brain where this drug-induced cell death takes place are important in the regulation of mood, cognition, and movement. In this study, the scientists examined how behavioral function might be affected by the drugs.
Using behavioral tests to detect characteristics of autism and schizophrenia, the researchers found that infant rats given the drugs experienced behavioral abnormalities later in life.
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"That is of particular concern because some of the drugs may predispose to psychiatric disorders later in life," lead author Patrick Forcelli, a graduate student in the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience at GUMC, was quoted as saying. "At the same time, our studies identify specific drugs that cause little or no long-term behavioral impairment." Forcelli says additional research will help physicians make better selection of drugs to treat epilepsy, mood disorders or pain in infants and pregnant women.
SOURCE: Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Chicago, IL, October 20, 2009
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