Figure 7.

Effects of early developmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and ethinyl estradiol on spatial search strategy of adult male and female deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) in the Barnes maze. (A) Examples of composite images from single animals tracked from entry to escape illustrating different spatial strategies used to exit the maze. (B) Distribution of different spatial strategies according to sex, diet exposure, and day of training. During the initial training period (day 1), most animals navigated by using a random strategy (black), followed by a serial search strategy (white). The most efficient spatial search strategy (gray) emerged when the animals began to use direction and position intra-maze cues. By day 3 of training, control males used more efficient strategies than control females and ethinyl estradiol– and BPA-exposed males, who in turn did not differ on any day (p < 0.0002). Ethinyl estradiol–exposed females used more efficient strategies than control and BPA-exposed females on all days except day 2. Adapted from Jašarević and colleagues (2011).