PERINATES ASSOCIATE ETHANOL'S SENSORY CUES WITH THE DRUG?S DEPRESSIVE RESPIRATORY EFFECTS: LATTER RE-EXPOSURE TO ETHANOL ODOR GENERATES CONDITIONED BREATHING DEPRESSION.

MACCHIONE, AF; CULLERÉ M; HAYMAL OB; ABATE P; MOLINA JC

Valencia

Congreso; 15th ESBRA Congress AND LASBRA; 2015

European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism and Latin American Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism

Breathing depressions endanger the neurological wellbeing of humanbabies. In different species, intrauterine alcohol exposure exerts dramaticeffects on fetal breathing patterns. Prior research also showsthat perinates smell ethanol in the amniotic fluid following maternalingestion of the drug and that they associate these cues with differentphysiological effects of the drug. In this study (Experiment 1), pregnantrats were exposed to 0.0 or 2.0 g/kg ethanol during late pregnancy.During postnatal day 7 (PD7), pups representative of thesegestational treatments received an i.g. administration of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0or 2.0 g/kg ethanol. Neonates were evaluated using a whole body plethysmographscented or not with ethanol odor. Ethanol exerted dosedependent effects upon breathing frequencies and apneic alterations.These effects were exacerbated in pups with prior prenatal exposureto the drug and tested under the presence of ethanol odor. In Experiment2, pups during PDs 3-7 (developmental stage equivalent to the3rd human gestational trimester) experienced ethanol odor or an unscentedchamber under a state of sobriety or when intoxicated(2.0 g/kg ethanol). At PD9, pups were exposed to the smell of thedrug while sober. Pups that originally experienced ethanol odor associatedwith the state of intoxication exhibited a dramatic conditionedrespiratory depression. These results indicate that: a) minimal prenatalethanol exposure sensitizes the organism to the drug?s detrimental effectsupon respiration and b) the smell of the drug acts as a conditionedstimulus capable of modulating or generating breathing depressionsand apneic disruptions.