| Species | Carbon Monoxide Exposure | Effects |
| chicken | very high level CO, few hours, 7 days |
hemorrhage in forebrain area; reduced branching of dendritic tree and reduced nuclear size of the paleostriatum primitivum seen in embryos just before hatching |
| rat | high level CO, 3 hours, 1 day |
damage to the germinal matrix overlying the developing caudate nucleus, consisting of hemorrhage infarcts with necrosis and cavities with cellular debris |
| rat | moderate-high level CO, throughout gestation |
cerebellar wts. decreased with increasing CO conc.; Norepinephrine and serotonin conc. in pons medulla decreased directly with increasing CO 3 weeks after birth. Norepinephrine also increased with CO conc. in neocortex |
| rat | moderate level CO | cerebellar norepinephrine conc. & content increased during 2nd-6th postnatal week |
| rat | moderate-high level CO, conception through 10 days after birth | cerebellar wt. & content of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) decreased post-birth. Total cerebellar high-afinity tritiated GABA uptake decreased post-birth in rats at high CO |
| rat | moderate-high level CO, throughout gestation |
cerebellar wt. & neurochemical markers of GABAergic neurons reduced. Numbers of fissures and degenerating Purkinje and granule cells in the cerebral cortex decreased. DNA content of the neostriatum increased as the result of high CO level, as well as dopamine content. Norepinephrine and serotonin decreased slightly in the pons medulla after birth |
| rat | moderate-high level CO, latter half of gestation | hippocampal ornithine decarboxylase activity doubled after 4 hours |
| rat | moderate level CO, throughout gestation | pathological signs suggestive of Wallerian degeneration in the sciatic nerve, seen in middle-aged rats |
| rat | lower to moderate level CO, throughout gestation | inactivation kinetics of transient sodium current in sciatic nerve slowed; negative shift in the sodium equilibrium potential |
| rat | lower to moderate level CO, throughout gestation | splenic macrophage phagocytosis of Candida albicans and superoxide radical release decreased in neonates |
| cat | high level CO, 1 - 2.5 hours | the most vulnerable areas were the cerebral white matter and brain stem, followed by the basal ganglia and thalamus, then the cerebral cortex |
| rhesus monkey | high level CO, near term, 1-3 hours | Of 9 newborn, 4 were normal, 1 showed moderate dysfunction, and 4 severe damage. One newborn with hypotonia, lethargy, a poor suck response, and apneic spells. Autopsy revealed hemorrhagic necrosis affecting the globus pallidus and putamen bilaterally. Four severely damaged newborn had increased intracranial pressure with splitting of the cranial sutures and prominent retinal hemorrhages. Neurologically, they displayed nystagmus, opisthotonus, and intermittent extensor spasms. These had hemorrhagic necrosis of the cerebral cortex, the basal ganglia, and the thalamus of both hemispheres. |
Note: For more detailed information, contact the webmaster (E-mail = dpenney@cmb.biosci.wayne.edu), or consult the book Carbon Monoxide, 1996, by David G. Penney, Ph.D.