Cerebral cortical morphology and behavior in rats following acute prenatal ethanol exposure.
Cerebral cortical morphology and early motor development were evaluated in offspring from ethanol-exposed mothers, pairfed control mothers and ad libitum control rats. Ethanol-exposed rats received a total dose of 18 g/kg of ethanol by intubation on gestational Days 14 and 15, a critical period of development of the cerebral cortex. Pairfed control mothers received isocaloric sucrose on gestational Days 14 and 15 and were pairfed to ethanol-exposed animals from gestational Day 12 through gestational Day 20. Ethanol-exposed offspring weighed significantly less than control offspring from postnatal Day 7 through postnatal Day 28. Ethanol-exposed offspring also showed significant delays in reflex suspension (time an animal maintained its grip on a crossbar) and continuous corridor (number of turns in 5 min). The thickness of the cerebral cortex of ethanol-exposed offspring was significantly different from ad libitum and pairfed control offspring on postnatal Day 1. However, only Layer V and total cortical thickness were affected in ethanol-exposed offspring on postnatal Day 28. The results of this study indicate that ethanol exposure during a critical period of development causes alterations in central nervous system development and developmental delays.
Kotkoskie
L A
LA
Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City 66103.
Norton
S
S
D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D000431:Ethanol