INVESTIGADORES
PAUTASSI Ricardo Marcos
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Prenatal ethanol-exposure facilitates the expression of ethanol induced-second-order conditioning in infant rats
Autor/es:
PAUTASSI RM; SPEAR, N.E.
Lugar:
Huerta Grande, Córdoba
Reunión:
Congreso; XXVI Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencia; 2011
Institución organizadora:
Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencia
Resumen:
PRENATAL ETHANOL-EXPOSURE FACILITATES THE
EXPRESSION OF ETHANOL INDUCED-SECOND-ORDER CONDITIONING IN INFANT RATS
RM Pautassi, ME Nizhnikov, NE Spear
Instituto de Investigación Médica M. y M.
Ferreyra (INIMEC - CONICET). Friuli
2434, Córdoba, 5000, Argentina; SUNY at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, 13902, USA.
Epidemiological and pre-clinical studies indicate that prenatal exposure
to ethanol is associated with heightened probability of problematic ethanol consumption
later in life. In recent studies we have developed a second-order conditioning
(SOC) place preference to analyze ethanol reinforcement. The present study
assessed ethanol-induced SOC in infants rats exposed to ethanol during late
gestation (maternal administration of 2.0 or 0.0 g/kg ethanol, gestational days
17 to 20). Two-week old rats derived from ethanol or vehicle-treated dams (total:
16 litters) were given ethanol (0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg) followed by the intraoral
infusion of a conditioned taste stimulus (CS1). Unpaired controls
were employed. The CS1 was then paired with a distinctive tactile
cue (CS2, sandpaper). ANOVAs indicated ethanol-mediated reinforcement,
indexed by measuring preference for the CS2 in a two-way test, in rats
that had been exposed to ethanol in-utero but not in counterparts reared by
vehicle-treated dams. These results suggest that prenatal experience with
ethanol facilitates the acquisition of later ethanol-induced appetitive
learning. These could be one the mechanisms underlying the permissive effect
that prenatal ethanol exerts on later predisposition for alcohol intake.