title: Object-recognition and spatial learning and memory in rats prenatally exposed to ethanol.
abstract: Prenatal ethanol exposure can produce cognitive and behavioral impairments. In the present study, rats from prenatal ethanol (E), pair-fed (PF), and ad libitum-fed control (C) treatment conditions were tested on the object-recognition delayed-nonmatching-to-sample (DNMS) task with nonrecurring items and on the spatial-navigation Morris water maze task. In Experiment 1, there were no significant differences among groups in object-recognition learning and memory, distractibility, or response perseveration on the DNMS task. In Experiment 2, the same rats were tested in the water maze; E rats took significantly longer to learn the task than did the PF or C rats. These data suggest that the mechanisms underlying spatial cognitive abilities are more vulnerable to the teratogenic effects of prenatal ethanol exposure than those underlying object-recognition abilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. ckkim@aim.salk.edu
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Kalynchuk
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Kornecook
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Mumby
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Dadgar
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pinel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weinberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D003463:Cues; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004924:Escape Reaction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009949:Orientation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012931:Social Environment
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol