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Cerebral Cortical Morphology and Behavior in Rats Following Acute Prenatal Ethanol Exposure
Author(s) -
Kotkoskie Lois A.,
Norton Stata
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1989.tb00420.x
Subject(s) - offspring , liquid diet , gestation , ethanol , cerebral cortex , medicine , pregnancy , endocrinology , physiology , anesthesia , biology , biochemistry , genetics
Cerebral cortical morphology and early motor development were evaluated in offspring from ethanol‐exposed mothers, pairfed control mothers and ad libitum control rats. Ethanol‐exposed rats received a total dose of 18 g/kg of ethanol by intubation on gestational Days 14 and 15, a critical period of development of the cerebral cortex. Pairfed control mothers received isocaloric sucrose on gestational Days 14 and 15 and were pairfed to ethanol‐exposed animals from gestational Day 12 through gestational Day 20. Ethanol‐exposed offspring weighed significantly less than control offspring from postnatal Day 7 through postnatal Day 28. Ethanol‐exposed offspring also showed significant delays in reflex suspension (time an animal maintained its grip on a crossbar) and continuous corridor (number of turns in 5 min). The thickness of the cerebral cortex of ethanol‐exposed offspring was significantly different from ad libitum and pairfed control offspring on postnatal Day 1. However, only Layer V and total cortical thickness were affected in ethanol‐exposed offspring on postnatal Day 28. The results of this study indicate that ethanol exposure during a critical period of development causes alterations in central nervous system development and developmental delays.