Prenatal ethanol and the prepubertal sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area

The volume of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area of the hypothalamus (SDN-POA) was determined in 14-31-day-old male and female rats whose mothers received a liquid diet containing 5% w/v ethanol from day 8 of gestation to parturition. Pair-fed dams received as a nutritional control an equal volume of an isocaloric liquid diet with maltose-dextrin in place of ethanol. Normal controls had laboratory rat chow and water available ad lib. The SDN-POA volume of ethanol-exposed males was significantly reduced compared to the pair-fed and normal males, and became indistinguishable from the SDN-POA volumes of the pair-fed and normal females. Ethanol-treated females also had a markedly reduced SDN-POA volume compared to the pair-fed and normal females. Our findings indicate that the SDN-POA of prepubertal rats of both sexes is sensitive to the effects of in utero ethanol exposure. While plasma testosterone, progesterone and estradiol titers, which we measured in fetuses on gestation day 22, were differentially affected by maternal ethanol consumption, the alterations by themselves cannot adequately explain the effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on the developing SDN-POA.