TY - JOUR
T1 - Neonatal ethanol exposure
T2 - Effects on adult behavior and brain growth parameters
AU - Grant, Kathleen A.
AU - Choi, Elizabeth Y.
AU - Samson, Herman H.
N1 - Funding Information:
~Supported in part by funds from the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Institute of the University of Washington, and in part by funds from the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. Inc. 2Supported by a NSF Predoctoral Fellowship. Requests for reprints should be addressed to K. A. Grant, Department of Psychology NI-25, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98125. 3Supported by a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Career Development Award (KO2 AA 00066).
PY - 1983
Y1 - 1983
N2 - Neonatal rats were reared using an artificial feeding technique from postnatal day 4 through 18. On postnatal day 4 through 7, some animals were given ethanol in their milk formula with the remaining animals serving as controls. The ethanol was given in amounts that have been shown to induce microcephaly when animals are examined at 18 days after birth. In this study, on postnatal day 18, all animals were weaned and allowed ad lib food and water until they were sacrificed at 60 days of age. When the animals were 30 days old, they were tested on a battery of behavioral tasks (nose poke, passive avoidance, and open field). No differences were found between the ethanol exposed animals and their controls on passive avoidance or nose poke activity. Ethanol-exposed female animals showed increased activity compared to their controls in the open field. There were no differences in open field activity between the ethanol exposed males and their controls. An examination of brain growth parameters (wet weights, DNA, cholesterol and protein content) showed no difference between the brains of ethanol-exposed males compared to controls at 60 days of age, regardless of brain parameter or brain area studied (forebrain, cerebellum or brainstem). The brains of ethanol-exposed females, however, had considerably less catch-up growth, with the ethanol effect on the cerebellum being very similar to that observed at 18 days of age. The results imply that sex and the time of ethanol exposure may interact to determine the ability of the brain to develop following a neonatal alcohol insult.
AB - Neonatal rats were reared using an artificial feeding technique from postnatal day 4 through 18. On postnatal day 4 through 7, some animals were given ethanol in their milk formula with the remaining animals serving as controls. The ethanol was given in amounts that have been shown to induce microcephaly when animals are examined at 18 days after birth. In this study, on postnatal day 18, all animals were weaned and allowed ad lib food and water until they were sacrificed at 60 days of age. When the animals were 30 days old, they were tested on a battery of behavioral tasks (nose poke, passive avoidance, and open field). No differences were found between the ethanol exposed animals and their controls on passive avoidance or nose poke activity. Ethanol-exposed female animals showed increased activity compared to their controls in the open field. There were no differences in open field activity between the ethanol exposed males and their controls. An examination of brain growth parameters (wet weights, DNA, cholesterol and protein content) showed no difference between the brains of ethanol-exposed males compared to controls at 60 days of age, regardless of brain parameter or brain area studied (forebrain, cerebellum or brainstem). The brains of ethanol-exposed females, however, had considerably less catch-up growth, with the ethanol effect on the cerebellum being very similar to that observed at 18 days of age. The results imply that sex and the time of ethanol exposure may interact to determine the ability of the brain to develop following a neonatal alcohol insult.
KW - Behavioral effects
KW - Brain growth parameters
KW - Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
KW - Neonatal ethanol exposure
KW - Sex differences
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U2 - 10.1016/0091-3057(83)90195-8
DO - 10.1016/0091-3057(83)90195-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 6634847
AN - SCOPUS:0021215144
SN - 0091-3057
VL - 18
SP - 331
EP - 336
JO - Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior
JF - Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior
IS - SUPPL. 1
ER -