Rate response to ethanol and a novel odor after prenatal exposure to ethanol in one and thirteen-day-old rats.

MILLER, S.; ARIAS, C.; MOLINA, J.C.; SPEAR, N.E.

Congreso; International Society for Developmental Psychobiology; 2007

Prenatal ethanol exposure is a predictor of ethanol use in human adolescents. In rodent models, prenatal exposure to even low or moderate ethanol doses resulted in later increased ethanol intake. The mechanisms for these results are still unknown, although some studies implicate prenatal learning about ethanol?s chemosensory attributes. In the present study, breathing rate was analyzed on postnatal day 1 (P1) or P13 following prenatal exposure to water or 2 g/kg ethanol on each of gestational days 17-20. Ethanol odor or a novel odor (lemon) were presented in a counterbalanced habituation-dishabituation procedure. Newborns (P1) exposed prenatally to ethanol had lower baseline breathing rates than pups prenatally treated with water, but P13 rats did not. Prenatal ethanol decreased responsiveness to the lemon odor for pups tested on P1 but not for those tested on P13., Habituation to lemon odor was slower in both P1 and P13 pups after prenatal exposure to ethanol, relative to controls. No differences were detected when pups were tested in response to ethanol odor. These results may indicate transient teratogenic effects of moderate prenatal ethanol exposure that are evident in response to a novel stimulus, but not to a familiar cue (ethanol odor). The present findings may aid in future development of simple neurobehavioral assessments of low to moderate ethanol exposure during gestation.