Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) is a persistently environmental pollutant ubiquitously found in wildlife and humans. Although concern on PBDE’s toxic effects is steadily increasing, its action on the central nervous system (CNS) remains largely unknown. To address this issue, the present study ex- amined the development inhibition of PBDE in neurons. The primary cultured hippocampal neurons of rat were exposed to the commercial decabromodiphenyl ether (deca-BDE), and the neurite length, bi- furcation, and synapse formation and maturation were evaluated, based on the confocal microscope imaging. The results showed that the development inhibition in neurons occurred at 15 μmol/L, indi- cating that PBDE is a potent neurotoxicant and it might obviously inhibit the development of cultured neurons.
