Ethanol sensitivity in rats: effect of prenatal stress.
The present study examined whether sensitivity to ethanol could be altered by prenatal stress exposure. Pregnant female rats were handled during the third week of gestation and the offspring were tested for ethanol sensitivity as adults. Compared to control offspring, the following characteristic responses to acute ethanol were significantly attenuated in prenatally stress-exposed rats: the decreases in body temperature, motor coordination and startle amplitude, and the increases in circulating corticosterone and free fatty acids. Ethanol-induced impairment of swim performance, in contrast, was potentiated in these animals. Since no differences were found in blood or breath ethanol levels, the rate of ethanol metabolism was probably not affected by prenatal stress. Rather, the altered responses appear to result from long-term changes in central nervous system sensitivity to ethanol.
DeTurck
K H
KH
Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854.
Pohorecky
L A
LA
D000437:Alcoholism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006728:Hormones / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013550:Swimming
D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D006728:Hormones