Journal of Clinical & Experimental Pharmacology

Prenatal ethanol effects on developmental milestones, locomotor activity and attention of rats

World Congress on Pharmacology

July 20-22, 2015 Brisbane, Australia

IvaniBrys

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: Clin Exp Pharmacol

Abstract:

There are numerous reports in the literature about cognitive and neuroanatomical abnormalities associated with Prenatal Exposure to Ethanol (PEE). However, the literature is inconsistent with respect to the effects of small doses of ethanol (equivalent to one to two drinks a week) on the offspring. Furthermore, epidemiological studies testing for an association between PEE and the occurrence of symptoms that are characteristic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have yielded inconsistent results and attempts to verify the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on attention in animal models are scarce. We investigated the role of dose of ethanol during pregnancy in relation to possible developmental and attentional impairments in the offspring of rats. By using liquid diets, we compared the effects of a standard (35% ethanol-derived calories - EDC) and a lower dose (10% EDC) of prenatal ethanol on developmental milestones - weight, negative geotaxis, grip strengthlocomotor activity and attention in the offspring. Our results showed that PEE results in developmental impairment s and hyperactivity at the high ? standard dose exposure. By using the five choice reaction time tasks, a robust method to evaluate attention, we also demonstrated that 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.