Effects of prepregnancy ethanol on neuromotor development, activity, and learning

This study examines the behavioral consequences of both long-term chronic and acute high-dose administration of ethanol before pregnancy. Female rats were assigned to one of five conditions: a self-administered liquid diet with 35% ethanol-derived calories, a pair-fed liquid diet with 0% ethanol-derived calories, a gavage intubation with 4 g/kg ethanol, a gavage intubation control, or a standard lab chow control. Offspring were weighed at various ages and tested for neuromotor development, activity, and learning a Morris maze water task. Offspring of mothers in the high-dose condition were hyperactive as juveniles but not as adults. Hyperactivity was not seen in the low-dose chronic ethanol condition, contrary to previous reports. Neither ethanol administration paradigm was associated with learning deficits. Prepregnancy stress effects were apparent from both the restricted liquid diet feeding and the gavage treatment on neuromotor development. A possible mechanism for the effects of prepregnancy ethanol treatment is linked to ethanol's potential to alter hormone levels. Since hormones are directly responsible for the maturation of the egg, hormonal imbalances as a result of ethanol exposure may result in developmental deficiencies in the offspring.