title: Effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on neonatal sleep-wake behaviour and adult alcohol consumption in the AA and ANA rat lines.
abstract: To study the role of genetic factors in the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on behaviour, dams of two rat lines developed to differ in voluntary alcohol intake, alcohol-preferring (AA) and alcohol-avoiding (ANA) rats were given a 5-10% alcohol solution mixed with a 1% sucrose solution as a sole drinking liquid throughout gestation. Sleep-wake behaviour of the offspring was studied at the ages of 7, 14 and 20 days, using a movement-sensitive mattress. In ANA rats, sleep recordings showed that prenatal alcohol exposure increased the percentage of waking but decreased the percentage of active sleep. Sleep-wake behaviour of the AA rats was not affected by alcohol exposure in utero. Prenatal alcohol exposure did not change open field behaviour in 1 month old rats, except that the alcohol-exposed AA rats' defaecation was decreased. When rats were 3 months old, voluntary intake of 10% (v/v) alcohol increased for alcohol-exposed ANA rats and decreased for alcohol-exposed AA rats as compared to the controls. The results indicate that AA rats may compensate for the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on behaviour, whereas offspring of the alcohol-exposed ANA dams suffer from severe behavioural disturbances. These findings further suggest that genetic factors are responsible for the differences in the susceptibility of rat foetuses to alcohol-induced long-term effects on behaviour.
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects*; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol