The effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on odor associative learning in rats.
Alcohol was administered to pregnant females via a liquid diet that contained either 35% ethanol-derived calories (35% EDC) or 0% EDC on gestation days 6-20. An ad lib lab chow group (LC) was also included. In Experiment 1, odor-aversion learning was examined in 10-day-old offspring. While both the 0% EDC and LC groups displayed odor aversions, the 35% EDC offspring did not. In Experiment 2, learning was assessed in an appetitive paradigm in three-day-old offspring. Once again, the 35% EDC offspring showed no evidence of learning. Experiment 3 examined odor-aversion learning in adults. Both alcohol-exposed offspring and controls learned the odor association equally well. These findings suggest that odor associative learning is a sensitive indicator for alcohol-related learning deficits in rat pups although these deficits may dissipate as the offspring matures. Since odor associations play a critical role in neonatal behaviors, these deficits may help explain other behavioral anomalies noted following prenatal alcohol exposure.
Barron
S
S
Psychology Department State University of New York, Albany 12222.
Gagnon
W A
WA
Mattson
S N
SN
Kotch
L E
LE
Meyer
L S
LS
Riley
E P
EP
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats
D000431:Ethanol