Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are synthetic chemicals notorious for interfering with the body’s normal hormone signaling causing adverse health effects in humans. One such EDC called bisphenol A (BPA), found in countless consumer products, is argued on its impact in prepubertal reproductive hormone signaling, leading to early puberty. This project looks to evaluate the extent prepubertal exposure of BPA has on hypothalamic brain pathways responsible for proper reproductive development and behavior from adolescence into adulthood. Female rats were exposed to BPA during adolescence, prior to puberty, through drinking water in 3 treatment groups. Rats were then scarified for hypothalamic brain regions to assess gene expression for specific genes and neurons vital for the onset of puberty. It is expected to find a dose-dependent effect with the highest dosed treatment group to experience the greatest effect from prepubertal BPA exposure. Such research will provide important knowledge to the detrimental health effects BPA exposure during adolescence can have later in life and risks of increased mental illness and behavioral disorders associated with early puberty.
