Repeated postnatal phencyclidine administration in female juvenile rat delays onset of puberty but has no effect on pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure-susceptibility.

The effects of chronic phencyclidine (PCP) treatment on sexual maturation and seizure-susceptibility in the developing female rat were studied. Postnatal female rats were injected once daily with 5 mg/kg PCP from Day 5 till Day 15 and were observed for sexual maturation--vaginal opening and estrus cyclicity were used as indices of sexual maturation. PCP-treated rats showed a delay in both vaginal opening and in estrus cyclicity compared to saline-treated pair-fed controls. On postnatal Day 21, PCP-treated rats and saline-treated controls were tested for seizure-susceptibility using the pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizure paradigm. PCP-treated female rats did not differ from saline-treated controls in their susceptibility to PTZ-induced seizures. In conclusion, chronic PCP administration during development in female rats disrupts sexual maturation but has no short-term effect on seizure susceptibility.