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Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Quantification of Social Behavior in Adult Rats
Published on: December 14, 2014
Perinatal choline supplementation attenuates behavioral alterations associated with neonatal alcohol exposure in rats
Jennifer D Thomas1, Megan Garrison, Teresa M O'Neill
1Center for Behavioral Teratology, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, Suite 209, 6363 Alvarado Court, San Diego 92120, USA. thomas3@mail.sdsu.edu
Insights
Early choline supplementation in rats significantly reduced hyperactivity and learning deficits caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. This dietary intervention offers a promising approach to mitigate fetal alcohol effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Prenatal alcohol exposure causes significant behavioral issues in children, including hyperactivity and learning deficits.
- Effective interventions are crucial as alcohol consumption during pregnancy remains a concern.
- Previous research indicated postnatal choline supplementation ameliorates learning deficits in alcohol-exposed rats.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of choline supplementation in reducing behavioral alterations linked to third-trimester equivalent brain growth spurt alcohol exposure.
- To determine if choline can mitigate hyperactivity and learning deficits in neonatal rats exposed to ethanol.
Main Methods:
- Neonatal male rats were exposed to alcohol (6.6 g/kg/day) from postnatal days 4-9 using artificial rearing.
- Choline chloride or saline vehicle was administered via subcutaneous injection from postnatal days 4-30.
- Activity levels were monitored, followed by a serial spatial discrimination reversal learning task.
Main Results:
- Alcohol-exposed rats exhibited significant hyperactivity, which was attenuated by choline treatment.
- Ethanol-exposed subjects made more perseverative errors in reversal learning, a deficit reduced by choline.
- These behavioral improvements are attributed to long-lasting organizational effects of early choline supplementation, not acute effects.
Conclusions:
- Early choline supplementation can effectively reduce hyperactivity and specific learning deficits associated with neonatal alcohol exposure.
- Dietary interventions like choline may represent a viable strategy to mitigate the severity of fetal alcohol effects.
- These findings highlight the potential of early nutritional support in addressing neurodevelopmental challenges from prenatal alcohol exposure.
Abstract:
Children exposed to alcohol prenatally suffer from a variety of behavioral alterations, including hyperactivity and learning deficits. Given that women continue to drink alcohol during pregnancy, it is critical that effective interventions and treatments be identified. Previously, we reported that early postnatal choline supplementation can reduce the severity of learning deficits in rats exposed to alcohol prenatally. The present study examined whether choline supplementation can reduce the severity of behavioral alterations associated with alcohol exposure during the third trimester equivalent brain growth spurt. Male neonatal rats were assigned to one of three treatment groups. One group was exposed to alcohol (6.6 g/kg/day) from postnatal days (PD) 4-9 via an artificial rearing procedure. Artificially reared and normally reared control groups were included. One half of subjects from each treatment received daily subcutaneous injections of a choline chloride solution from PD 4-30, whereas the other half received saline vehicle injections. On PD 31-34, after choline treatment was complete, activity level was monitored and, on PD 40-42, subjects were tested on a serial spatial discrimination reversal learning task. Subjects exposed to alcohol were significantly hyperactive compared to controls. The severity of ethanol-induced hyperactivity was attenuated with choline treatment. In addition, subjects exposed to ethanol during the neonatal period committed a significantly greater number of perseverative-type errors on the reversal learning task compared to controls. Exposure to choline significantly reduced the number of ethanol-related errors. Importantly, these behavioral changes were not due to the acute effects of choline, but were related to long-lasting organizational effects of early choline supplementation. These data suggest that early dietary interventions may reduce the severity of fetal alcohol effects.
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