Long-term effects of DDT on the behavior and central nervous system activity in Periplaneta americana

The effects of p,p′-DDT and four of its analogs on electrical activity in the central nervous system of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana (L.), were investigated. Cockroaches were injected intraabdominally with an organochlorine compound at LD₅₀ 96-hr doses (except for p,p′-DDE). Extracellular recordings were made from the central nervous system at 1 hr, 24 hr, or 3 weeks postinjection. p,p′-DDT, methoxychlor, and p,p′-DDD induced behavioral changes (tremors, jitters, hyperexcitability) and repetitive firing in the central nervous system prior to 1 hr postinjection. By 24 hr postinjection, most behavioral signs of poisoning had disappeared, though repetitive firing could still be readily elicited in the central nervous system. Cockroaches injected with o,p′-DDT, however, usually required about 48 hr before overt signs of poisoning became apparent. Cockroaches treated with p,p′-DDT or o,p′-DDT behaved normally at 3 weeks postinjection but still displayed a significant occurrence of repetitive firing in the central nervous system. A mechanism is proposed to explain how a cockroach might recover behaviorally from a sublethal dose of an organochlorine compound but still display repetitive firing in its central nervous system. A direct “cause and effect” relationship between repetitive firing in the central nervous system and mortality (and external signs of poisoning) is therefore questioned.