Effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on3H-diazepam binding to cerebral cortical synaptic membranes at various stages of postnatal development

Laboratory of Neurochemical Mechanisms of the Conditioned Reflex, Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR V. S. Rusinov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 105, No. 5, pp. 558–561, May, 1988.     

The relationship of prenatal alcohol exposure and the postnatal environment to child depressive symptoms

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association between prenatal alcohol exposure and child depressive symptoms, and the mediating effects of maternal and child characteristics. METHODS: Participants were 42 children aged 4-5 years and their biological mothers. Prenatal alcohol consumption was assessed by self-report of maximum drinks per drinking occasion. The Pictorial Depression Scale (PDS) measured child depressive symptoms. Mother-child interactions were assessed using the family interaction puzzle task. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling indicated that prenatal alcohol exposure was associated with more negative child affect. In turn, mothers of more negative children were less emotionally connected to their children, and those children had higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Results could not be explained by current maternal drinking patterns or maternal depression. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings highlight the importance of examining prenatal alcohol exposure as a risk factor in the prediction of childhood-onset depression and the environmental mechanisms that may mediate that relationship.     

Reparative changes in the sensomotor cortex of the offspring after moderate prenatal exposure to alcohol

Laboratory of Brain Ultrastructure, Brain Research Institute, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow. (Presented by Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences O. S. Adrianov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 114, No. 7, pp. 106–109, July, 1992.     

Adolescent social stress and social context influence the intake of ethanol and sucrose in male rats soon and long after the stress exposures

Social instability stress in adolescent rats (SS; postnatal day 30–45, daily 1 hr isolation +new cage partner) alters behavioural responses to psychostimulants, but differences in voluntary consumption of natural and drug rewards are unknown. SS also is associated with an atypical behavioural repertoire, for example reduced social interactions. Here, we investigated whether SS rats differ from control (CTL) rats in ethanol (EtOH) or sucrose intake in experiments involving different social contexts: alone, in the presence of an unfamiliar peer, in the presence of its cage partner, or in competition against its cage partner. SS rats drank more EtOH than CTL rats irrespective of social context, although the effects were driven primarily by those tested soon after the test procedure rather than weeks later in adulthood. SS and CTL rats did not differ in sucrose intake, except in adulthood under conditions of competition for limited access (SS>CTL). Adolescent rats drank more sucrose than adults, in keeping with evidence that adolescents are more sensitive to natural rewards than adult animals. Overall, adolescent SS modified the reward value of EtOH and sucrose, perhaps through stress/glucocorticoids modifying the development of the mesocorticolimbic system.     

Effect of maternal ethanol administration on physical growth of the offspring in rats

To study the effects of maternal alcohol consumption on the postnatal growth and physical development of the offspring, female Sprague-Dawley rats (200-220 g) were assigned to one of 3 groups. Group I (alcohol) received alcohol in drinking water (up to 20% v/v) for at least 4 weeks prior to mating, and 30% (v/v) throughout gestation. Purina Lab Chow was ad libitum. Group II (pair-fed) received the same amount of chow as was consumed by alcohol-fed animals, and an amount of corn starch calorically equivalent to the amount of alcohol consumed. Group III (ad libitum) were given chow and water ad libitum. Postnatally all animals were given chow and water ad libitum until day 51 post conception (PC). During pregnancy alcohol provided about 28% of the calories in group I, and the total calorie intakes of the alcohol and pair-fed groups were approximately 60% of that of the ad libitum controls. Weights at birth of offspring of pair-fed and ad libitum control mothers are not significantly different, but the offspring of animals given alcohol show a weight deficit of 28%, compared to the ad libitum controls. During the ensuing four weeks weight shows no indication of catching up to the controls. Total length shows the same pattern as body weight. Skeletal and muscle measurements are significantly less (p less than 0.01) in young of alcohol treated mothers than in those of the ad libitum control mothers. Skeletal maturity in the alcohol group lags behind (p less than 0.01) that of the pair-fed and ad libitum control groups and catch-up is not evident to day 51 PC. It is concluded that young born to animals given alcohol prior to and throughout gestation are physically and developmentally retarded and fail to catch up to the controls during the first four weeks after birth, although not exposed to alcohol postnatally.     

Prenatal ethanol exposure and spatial navigation: effects of postnatal handling and aging

Prenatal ethanol exposure results in spatial navigation deficits in young and mid-aged animals. In contrast, postnatal handling attenuates spatial deficits that emerge with age in animals that are not handled. Therefore, we investigated the ability of handling to attenuate spatial deficits in animals prenatally exposed to ethanol (E). Sprague-Dawley male offspring from E, pair-fed (PF), and control (C) groups were handled (H) or nonhandled (NH) from 1 to 15 days of age and tested on the Morris water maze at 2 or 13 to 14 months of age. In young animals, H-E males had longer latencies to locate the submerged platform, and E animals, across handling conditions, showed altered search patterns compared to their PF and C counterparts. Mid-aged animals had longer latencies than young animals, with no differences among E, PF, and C animals. However, corticosterone levels were higher in mid-aged E than in C males. Handling did not attenuate impairments associated with either prenatal ethanol exposure or aging.     

Effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on social competence: Asymmetry in play partner preference among heterogeneous triads of male and female rats

Social behavior deficits associated with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) are frequently described in terms of impaired social competence, which can be defined as the effectiveness in social interaction and the ability to employ social skills successfully within different interpersonal contexts. Play behavior—which peaks during adolescence—is critical for developing social competence, as well as for motor, cognitive, and emotional development. Studies of play behavior typically utilize protocols where animals interact in dyads. However, less is understood about how the social environment may shape PAE-related social behavior deficits, particularly in more complex social contexts. Here, we assess play partner preference utilizing a novel approach in which adolescent male and female animals interact within same-sex triads comprised of animals from mixed prenatal treatments to determine how play partner identity and social group composition interact to shape behavior. When triads included one PAE animal and two control animals (i.e., control animals had the option to play either with a fellow control or a PAE playmate), we observed play target asymmetry whereby controls preferentially played with fellow controls. Notably, these results were consistent for triads of both males and females, with subtle differences in frequency of initiations versus reciprocations. We found no play target asymmetry, however, when triads included two PAE animals and one control animal or different configurations of control and pair-fed animals. Taken together, play target asymmetry resulting from ineffective social interactions, including a failure to engage with, respond to, and/or solicit play from control play partners appropriately, suggests that PAE negatively impacts the development of social competence.     

Mice reared with rats: Effects of prenatal and postnatal maternal environments upon hybrid offspring of C57BL/10J and Swiss Albino mice

The hybrid offspring of reciprocal crosses between C57BL/10J and Swiss Albino mice were fostered at birth to Swiss Albino mouse mothers or to Purdue-Wistar rat mothers. Measures were taken of incidence of survival, body weight, open-field performance, passive avoidance learning, and fighting. As compared to mice reared by mouse mothers after birth, mice reared by rat mothers (a) had a lower incidence of survival at weaning; (b) weighed more; (c) were less active in the open field, defecated less in the field, and had a greater latency to initiate movement in the field; and (d) had poorer passive learning scores. The findings indicate that the postnatal maternal environment has pervasive effects upon a number of behavioral and morphological characters, but reveal a minimal effect of the prenatal environment. Moreover, they indicate that the absence of differences in fighting scores among the 4 groups may be caused by dominant genes.     

Effects of maternal immunization on the survival and postnatal development of the offspring.

Immunization of females prior to mating altered the size of their litters and the incidence of postnatal death and runting, and the effect varied with the antigen used. Litter size was decreased after immunization with an aggregated synthetic polypeptide or with DNP-BGG, but not with aggregated insulin. Postnatal mortality was increased after immunization with an aggregated polypeptide, aggregated insulin or DNP-BGG. Postnatal runting was increased after immunization with the aggregated polypeptide or with aggregated insulin.     

Increased opioid release in specific brain areas in animals exposed to prenatal morphine and emotional stress later in life

Prenatal morphine treatment and emotional stress both have been shown to increase sensitivity to reward-related behaviors. It has been postulated that this increased sensitivity to rewarding stimuli may be the result of an enhanced release of endogenous opioids. In the present study, in vivo autoradiography was employed to investigate the endogenous opioid release in specific brain areas in rats. Pregnant animals were exposed to morphine or saline from day 8 of gestation till birth. Development of pups was monitored and play behavior was tested on postnatal day 21. Adult rats were exposed to repeated emotional stress or control treatment for five consecutive days and tested in a small open field 5 days later. [³H]-Diprenorphine was injected following this test to investigate endogenous opioid release.     

Effects of paternal and maternal undernutrition on growth of offspring in rats

In adult males, undernutrition is associated with altered spermatogenesis. The present study was performed to evaluate the possible role of paternal undernutrition on growth and development of rat offspring and to compare those effects with undernutrition in pregnant animals. Male rats were fed 100%, 80% or 60% of their ad lib food intake for eight weeks and were then bred to untreated females. Pregnant rats were mated with untreated males and received their food allotments throughout pregnancy. Although male body weights and rate of successful matings were decreased by paternal undernutrition, offspring litter size, birth weights, and weights at 21 days were not significantly altered. By contrast, maternal undernutrition was associated with decreased maternal weight gain, lower offspring birth weights and body weights at weaning.     

Ontogeny of ethanol intake in alcohol preferring (P) and alcohol nonpreferring (NP) rats

There is a scarcity of research on ethanol affinity in alcohol‐preferring (P) rats before weaning and it is unknown if neonate P rats exhibit ethanol intake preferences comparable to those observed in adult P rats. This study examined ethanol intake in P and alcohol‐nonpreferring (NP) rats 3 hr after birth (Experiment 1, surrogate nipple test), at postnatal days (PD) 8, 12, and 18 (Experiment 2, consumption from the floor procedure) and at adolescence (Experiment 3, two‐bottle choice test at PD32). The high‐preference genotype was readily expressed 3 hr after birth. P neonates drank twice as much ethanol as their NP counterparts. This heightened ethanol preference transiently reversed at P8, reemerged as weaning approached (P18) and was fully expressed during adolescence. These results help to clarify the ontogeny of genetic predisposition for ethanol. Genetic predisposition for higher ethanol intake in P than in NP rats seems to be present immediately following birth. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 53:234–245, 2011.     

Behavioral and neuroanatomical effects of prenatal, postnatal, or combined exposure to ethanol in weanling rats

Separate and combined effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to ethanol on activity, emotionality, learning, and hippocampal neuroanatomy were examined in infant rats. Neonatal rats from mothers that were fed either a liquid ethanol (E) or control (C) diet on Gestational Days (G) 1-21 were artificially reared during Postnatal Days (P) 4-12 on either 3% ethanol (E) or isocaloric maltose/dextrin (C) in a milk formula. Pups in these treatment groups (EE, EC, CE, and CC) were tested for activity and emotionally in an open field on P19, for acquisition and extinction of an appetitive, straight runaway task on P20-P21, and for the effects of ethanol treatments on alterations in hippocampal neuroanatomy on P21. Differences in activity and emotionally were slight. Ethanol affected both the partial reinforcement acquisition effect and the partial reinforcement extinction effect. Hippocampal cell density (compared with Group CC) showed a 12% reduction in CA1 pyramidal cells and an 11% reduction in mature granule cells in Groups EC and EE; the CA4 area (compared with Group CC) was significantly larger after postnatal exposure (Groups CE and EE). Significant positive correlations were found between rate of extinction after partial reinforcement (PRF) training and CA1 pyramidal cell density in Groups CC and CE. A significant negative correlation was found between extinction rate after PRF training and CA4 area in Group EE.     

Effects of prenatal stress on formalin-induced acute and persistent pain in adult male rats

Behavioral responses of 90-day-old male offspring from female Wistar rats exposed to restraint stress during the last week of pregnancy were studied in the formalin test. Specific biphasic behavioral response characterized acute (phase 1) and persistent tonic pain (phase 2). The intensity of nociceptive responses (evaluated by the number of flexions+ shakings and by the duration of paw licking) in prenatally stressed rats changed only during phase 2. During interphase, facilitation of the flexion+shakings pattern (but not the licking pattern) in response to nociceptive stimulation was seen. The response intensity during phase 1 and the duration of both phases remained unchanged. Our findings suggest that prenatal stress modulates nociceptive sensitivity in 90-day-old offspring: it affects the duration of tonic (inflammatory), but not of acute pain. It is concluded that different mechanisms are responsible for the effects of prenatal stress on acute and persistent pain in the formalin test.