Perinatal exposure to low doses of ethanol induces changes in cerebral areas analyzed at early postnatal days, which could be involved in characteristic adult behaviour

VILLALBA NERINA; SORIANO DELIA; MADARNAS CATALINA; CALTANA LAURA; HERMINIA ALICIA BRUSCO; NOVAK LUCIANA; SANCHEZ VIVIANA

Saan Diego

Congreso; Neuroscience Meeting 2018; 2018

Society for Neuroscience

Different animal models have been used to analyze the effect of ethanol (EtOH) during brain development and its consequences in adulthood. One of the most characteristic effects of in utero EtOH exposure is infant locomotor hyperactivity. However, studies on adult rats prenatally exposed to EtOH have rendered controversial results. Some authors have reported an increase in locomotor activity, while others have found no hyperactivity. In addition, previous studies found that adolescent mice and infant rats exhibit EtOH-induced locomotor activation. In view of these contrasting results, the aim of this work was to analyze adult behavior in CD1 mice perinatally exposed to low doses of EtOH (PEE) during gestation and lactation, and correlating it with morphological changes observed in their early postnatal brain.Primiparous CD1 female mice were exposed to EtOH 6%v/v intake for four weeks previous to mating. Pregnant mice drank EtOH 6%v/v during pregnancy and lactation. At the end of lactation, EtOH was eliminated and male pups were fed with food and water ad libitum.At P0 (postnatal day 0) and P17 pups were fixed and brain sections were stained. Morphometric parameters and nuclear characteristics were analyzed in hippocampus, cerebral premotor cortex and callosum. At P60, open field test were performed and locomotor activity, latency, time spent in periphery, time spent in central square and travelled distance were analyzed.In this PEE model, no differences were observed in weight gain in pregnant mice and in the number of offspring compared to the control group. Female mice consumed 0.261±0.08 ml EtOH/g/day, and yielded a BEC (blood EtOH concentration) of 73.29±8.69 mg/dl at the end of lactation. In PEE pups, BEC at P17 was 155.09±28.25 mg/dl and 101.56±5.21mg/dl at P21.There was a reduction of CA1 hippocampal area thickness in PEE pups at both P0 and P17; while a reduction of cerebral premotor cortex and the callosum thickness was found at P17. No morphological changes in nuclei were found.In adult PEE mice, behavioral estudies showed an increase in latency and a decrease in distance travelled compared to control animals. These results could be related with the alterations found in the studied brain areas.