Disruption of maternal behavior by alcohol intoxication in the lactating rat: A behavioral and metabolic analysis.

PEPINO MY; PAULA ABATE; SPEAR NE; MOLINA JC

ALCOHOLISM: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2002 vol. 26 p. 1205 - 1214

0145-6008

Background: Preweanling rats exhibit clear behavioral signs of distress after interacting with an alcoholintoxicateddam. Interestingly, behavioral reactivity of infants to the experience of alcohol in the nursingcontext decreases as a function of repeated alcohol administrations to the mother. In this study, maternalactivities were examined when dams were exposed to repeated administrations of a subnarcoleptic alcoholdose. Maternal changes in alcohol metabolism were also analyzed as a function of repeated exposures to thedrug.Methods: During postpartum days 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13, nursing dams received an intragastric administrationof either 2.5 g/kg of alcohol or water. Maternal behaviors were evaluated (experiment 1). Bloodalcohol levels (BALs) of the dams were determined on postpartum day 16 after all mothers received eitheran intragastric (experiment 2) or an intraperitoneal (experiment 3) dose of alcohol. The doses used (2.5 g/kgintragastrically and 1.5 g/kg intraperitoneally) were chosen because they promote similar peak BALs indams naive to alcohol.Results: Maternal behaviors were strongly affected by the state of intoxication. Nevertheless, thesedisruptions clearly subsided with progression of alcohol-related experiences (experiment 1). Chromatographicanalysis of alcohol metabolism indicated the development of tolerance in dams that had priorexperience with alcohol (experiment 2). Changes in BALs as a function of prior experience with alcoholseemed related to first-pass alcohol metabolism rather than hepatic oxidative processes of the drug (experiments2 and 3).Conclusions: When the dam first experiences a moderate state of alcohol intoxication, maternal behaviorsare uniformly disrupted. Subsequent exposures to alcohol lead to maternal metabolic tolerance. Inconjunction with previous studies, these data indicate that infantile reactivity to alcohol is dependent onhow the members of the dam/pup dyad express or perceive ethanol’s postabsorptive effects.