Impaired brain growth in neonatal rats exposed to ethanol.
Infant rat pups, fed through intragastric cannulas from postnatal day 4 through day 18, showed a 19 percent reduction in total brain weight when ethanol was included in their diet on days 4 through 7. This reduction in brain weight occurred even though body growth in the experimental rats was equal to that of their littermate controls. The ethanol-exposed animals were markedly hypoactive during the period of drug administration, then displayed gross body tremors for 3 to 5 days. Throughout the study, the animals treated with ethanol had poor motor coordination and were hyperresponsive. These brain and behavioral effects appear similar to those seen in fetal alcohol syndrome.
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000254:growth & development; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000196:embryology*; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats
D000431:Ethanol