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Effects of in Utero Ethanol Exposure on the Developing Serotonergic System
Author(s) -
Druse Mary J.,
Kuo Alison,
Tajuddin Nuzhath
Publication year - 1991
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.1530-0277.1991.tb00578.x
Subject(s) - serotonergic , in utero , ethanol , psychology , medicine , pregnancy , serotonin , chemistry , biology , fetus , biochemistry , receptor , genetics
Previous work in this laboratory demonstrated that the 19‐ and 35‐day‐old offspring of ethanol‐fed rats have a significant deficiency of cortical serotonin (5‐HT) and 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5‐HIAA), as well as a decrease in the number of total 5‐HT 1 receptors in the motor and somatosensory cortex. The present studies extend our previous reports by demonstrating that there is also a deficit of 5‐HT and 5‐HIAA in the motor cortex but not in the somatosensory cortex. In addition, we have shown that a deficit of 5‐HTlA receptors in the motor and somatosensory cortices contributes to the deficit of total 5‐HT 1 receptors. In contrast, we did not observe any changes in the binding to 5‐HT 1B receptors in these cortical regions from the 19‐day‐old offspring of ethanol‐fed rats. The present studies also examined the effects of in utero ethanol exposure on the early development of the serotonergic system. The results of these studies demonstrated a deficit of 5‐HT and/or 5‐HlAA in the brain stem as early as the 15th day of gestation (G15) and in the cortex as early as G19. In addition, we demonstrated a delay in both the normal developmental decline of 5‐HT 1A receptors in the brain stem and in the acquisition of cortical 5‐HT 1A receptors. No changes were found in the binding of [ 125 ]cyanopindolol to 5‐HT 1B receptors in either region of fetal or neonatal rats exposed to ethanol in utero. Given the important role of serotonin for normal central nervous system (CNS) development, it is possible that these early serotonergic abnormalities contribute to altered CNS development in ethanol‐exposed rats.