Because a requirement of thyroid hormones for proper brain
development was previously known, the researchers blocked the production of these hormones in
pregnant rats to see if their absence would inhibit basal progenitor proliferation in the
embryos.
Embryo - fetal
development studies carried out on mice and rats also observed a reduced number of pups per litter, reduced pup weight at birth, and an increased frequency of skeletal «variations» in pups after
pregnant females were given high doses of DEP.