"Spatial learning in male and female rats exposed to acute ethanol intoxication on gestational day 8"

MINETTI, S.A.; AROLFO, M.P.; VIRGOLINI, M.B.; BRIONI, J.D.; FULGINITI, A.S

PHARMACOLOGY BIOCHEMISTRY AND BEHAVIOR

Año: 1996 vol. 53 p. 361 - 367

0091-3057

Pregnant Wistar rats were treated on gestational day 8 (CD 8) with two IP injections of either ethanol (2.9 g/kg in 24% v/v saline solution) or saline. Offspring were tested in the water-maze task at 45 or 90 days of age. The escape latencies of rats trained with a submerged escape platform at a fried location were similar between control and experimental rats. Analyses of responses on a probe trial carried out 10 days after the training period, revealed that %-day-old females prenatally exposed to alcohol were less likely to swim in the target region. No differences were observed in this free-swim trial in 45 and W-day-oldmale, and 45-day-old female animals. Binding studies of low-affinity GABA, sites in the hippocampus showed an increase in affinity of [?H]GABAA for their binding sites in 90-day-old female offspring prenatally intoxicated with ethanol. Our results demonstrate that acute intoxication with ethanol on CD 8 did not modify acquisition but impaired the retention of spatial learning only in adult female rats. It is possible that the impaired retention will be consequence of higher GABA, receptor affinity.