title: Attention, locomotor activity and developmental milestones in rats prenatally exposed to ethanol.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Decline of attentional performance as a function of time engaged on a task and hyperactivity are features shared by children and adults with fetal alcohol syndrome or attentional deficit and hyperactivity disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effects of prenatal exposure to two doses of ethanol on developmental milestones, locomotor activity and attention.
  
  
  METHODS
  Wistar rats born from dams exposed to one of four maternal treatments during pregnancy were used: A35 - liquid diet with 35% ethanol-derived calories; A10 - liquid diet with 10% ethanol-derived calories; control - ethanol-free liquid diet; chow - laboratory chow and water.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A35 performed worse in grip strength than control and chow (postnatal day - 14, p<0.05) but not in negative geotaxis (postnatal days 7-10); A35 also showed more locomotor activity than control and A10 (p<0.05). Regarding attention, acquisition of the five choice reaction time task was similar between groups, but, the percentage of omission errors from A35 group was greater than other groups at baseline parameters, at shorter (2s) and longer (7s) inter-trial intervals and at a shorter stimulus duration (0.5s) (p<0.05). The percentage of omissions was larger in A35 as the blocks progressed in sessions with either longer or shorter inter-trial intervals (group×block p<0.05). Animals from A10 group did not show any impairment in the tasks performed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrates that as well as developmental impairments, prenatal ethanol can produce deficits associated with an increase in attentional demand in rodents, analogous to those observed in fetal alcohol syndrome and attentional deficit and hyperactivity disorders.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia do Desenvolvimento e da Personalidade, Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Ramiro Barcellos 2600, Porto Alegre, RS 90035-003, Brazil. Electronic address: ivanibrys@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ivani
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Brys
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia do Desenvolvimento e da Personalidade, Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Ramiro Barcellos 2600, Porto Alegre, RS 90035-003, Brazil.
authors.forename: Stéfano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pupe
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia do Desenvolvimento e da Personalidade, Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Ramiro Barcellos 2600, Porto Alegre, RS 90035-003, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lisiane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bizarro
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000209:etiology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000633:toxicity*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D006948:Hyperkinesis / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D053580:Muscle Strength; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Alcohol; Attention; Development; Fetal alcohol syndrome; Prenatal exposure to ethanol