IvaniBrys
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul,Brazil
Title: Prenatal ethanol effects on developmental milestones, locomotor activity and attention of rats
Biography
Biography: IvaniBrys
Abstract
There are numerous reports in the literature about cognitive and neuroanatomicalabnormalities 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 foran association between PEE and the occurrence of symptoms that are characteristic of attentiondeficit 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 strength- locomotor activity and attention in the offspring. Our results showed that PEE results in developmental impairment sand hyperactivity at the high – standard dose exposure. By using the Five choice reaction time task, 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.