Developmental Exposure to Bisphenol A Degrades Auditory Cortical Processing in Rats
Binliang Tang1,2 • Kailin Li1,2 • Yuan Cheng1,2 • Guimin Zhang1,2 • Pengying An1,2 • Yutian Sun1,2 • Yue Fang1,2 • Hui Liu1,2 • Yang Shen1,2 • Yifan Zhang1,2 • Ye Shan1 • E´ tienne de Villers-Sidani3 • Xiaoming Zhou1,21 Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
2 New York University-East China Normal University Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science, NYU-Shanghai, Shanghai 200062, China
3 Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
Abstract
Developmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine-disrupting contaminant, impairs cognitive function in both animals and humans. However, whether BPA affects the development of primary sensory systems, which are the first to mature in the cortex, remains largely unclear. Using the rat as a model, we aimed to record the physiological and structural changes in the primary auditory cortex (A1) following lactational BPA exposure and their possible effects on behavioral outcomes. We found that BPA-exposed rats showed significant behavioral impairments when performing a sound temporal rate discrimination test. A significant alteration in spectral and temporal processing was also recorded in their A1, manifested as degraded frequency selectivity and diminished stimulus rate-following by neurons. These post-exposure effects were accompanied by changes in the density and maturity of dendritic spines in A1. Our findings demonstrated developmental impacts of BPA on auditory cortical processing and auditory-related discrimination, particularly in the temporal domain. Thus, the health implications for humans associated with early exposure to endocrine disruptors such as BPA merit more careful examination.
Keywords
Auditory cortex; Auditory behavior; BPA exposure; Cortical processing; Plasticity
