Female mice were exposed maternally to clothianidin through diet at levels of 0% (control), 0.002%, 0.006%, and 0.018% during gestation and lactation periods. Selected reproductive and neurobehavioral parameters were measured in F1 generation. There was no adverse effect of clothianidin on litter size, litter weight, or sex ratio at birth. The average body weight of male and female offspring was increased significantly in a dose-related manner during the lactation period. With respect to behavioral developmental parameters, surface righting at postnatal day 7 of female offspring was accelerated significantly in a dose-related manner (p < 0.05). For movement activity of exploratory behavior at 3 weeks of age, the average speed (cm/s) of male offspring increased significantly in a dose-related manner (p < 0.05). With regard to spontaneous behavior in the F1 generation, males showed more activity in some measured variables in the middle-dose group. The dose levels of clothianidin in the present study produced several adverse effects in the neurobehavioral parameters in mice.
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