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Some Effects of Prenatal Zinc Deficiency on Behavior of the Adult Rat

Extract: The effect of zinc deficiency during the latter third of gestation on avoidance conditioning of young adult male rats was compared with the effect of intrauterine starvation and normal pregnancy. Animals which had experienced zinc deficiency avoided shock less well than the offspring of pair-fed control dams. The offspring of pair-fed dams avoided shock less well than animals which were the product of normal pregnancy. Response latencies were inferior in the zinc-deficient group, whereas intertrial responses were less on both the previous zinc-deficient and intrauterine starved animals.Speculation: Zinc is essential for development of the brain. Fetuses of women who consume inadequate amounts of zinc during pregnancy may be at risk as far as intrauterine brain development and body growth are concerned. Damage caused to such fetuses may be persistent and be mainfest as mental retardation.