Frequent, brief, and mild prenatal decompressions caused decreases in newborn rats' viability and in survivors' "emotional" development. Both hypoxia and otic barotrauma contributed to these effects, but hypoxia, alone, did not affect offspring behavior in the open field or in a shock avoidance task.Prenatal exposure to high altitudes generally depresses birth weights and increases mortalities among the newborn (

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Two experiments report retarded physiological and behavioral development of rats prenatally exposed to a sequence of rapid, brief decompressions to 6,000 ft. In Experiment I, prenatally treated young gained weight more slowly than controls, acquired climbing skills at a later age, and ambulated less in an open field at 32 days of age. In Experiment 2, open-field data provided evidence for a critical period during the first 12 days of gestation.