Animal Study Explores Behavioral Changes Linked to Early BPA Exposure

A recent study has allegedly concurred with theories suggesting that newborn mice exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) exhibit signs of behavioral changes as adults. Henrik Viberg, et al., “Dose-dependent behavioral disturbances after a single neonatal Bisphenol A dose,” Toxicology, December 2011. After administering a single dose of BPA to three groups of 10-day-old male mice, researchers reportedly found that the two groups exposed to the highest BPA concentrations behaved differently than normal mice when placed in new environments at 2 and 5 months of age.

According to the study abstract, these findings suggest that “a single neonatal
exposure to [BPA] causes adult disturbances in spontaneous behavior in
a novel home environment” that are both dose-related and long-lasting.
In particular, the authors noted that the apparent effects of neonatal BPA
exposure on the cholinergic system are similar to those seen “after a single
postnatal exposure to other [persistent organic pollutants], such as PBDEs,
PCBs and PFCs.”