EFFECTS OF OZONE EXPOSURE DURING PREGNANCY ON ONTOGENY OF SLEEP IN RATS

Few studies regarding the effects of ozone exposure in the central ner vous system (CNS), during the early stages of development have been re ported. The study of sleep on newborn rats represents a model to under stand the effects of this gas on the CNS. We studied the sleep organiz ation in rats whose mothers were exposed to 1 part per million (ppm) o zone during pregnancy. We found severe sleep disturbances such as a de crease in paradoxical sleep duration and inversion of the light-dark c ycle or a circadian phase-shift of vigilance slates. These results sug gest that ozone exposure during pregnancy may affect the generating me chanisms of paradoxical sleep, and the regulation of circadian rhythms in rats.