Conditioned preferences for alcohol after its association with amniotic fluid in infant rats.

CHOTRO, M.G; ARIAS, C

Washington - EEUU

Congreso; 38th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology; 2005

International Society for Developmental Psychobiology

Studies in humans and animals indicate that exposure to flavors into the amniotic fluid during the last gestational period may induce preferences for those flavors. Considering that during the last prenatal period the amniotic fluid contains substances that activate the opioid system, and that this system plays a critical role in the acquisition of olfactory preferences early in life, it has been hypothesized that the amniotic fluid may acquire appetitive unconditioned properties during this period. This has been tested in an experiment in which preweanling rats were exposed to alcohol odor (CS) paired or unpaired with the intraoral infusion of amniotic fluid (US) collected on gestational day 20. Pairing of these two stimuli induced an enhanced palatability of alcohol?s flavor and also an increased intake of the drug. These results support the idea that the amniotic fluid acquires appetitive unconditioned properties during the last days of gestation.