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Updated: May 4, 2026
Construction of Vapor Chambers Used to Expose Mice to Alcohol During the Equivalent of all Three Trimesters of Human Development
Published on: July 13, 2014
Maternal isolation during the first two postnatal weeks affects novelty-induced responses and sensitivity to
Macarena Fernández1, María Carolina Fabio, Michael E Nizhnikov
1Instituto de Investigación Médica M. y M. Ferreyra, INIMEC-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, C.P., 5000, Argentina; Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, C.P., 5000, Argentina.
Abstract:
Animals exposed to chronic maternal separation (MS) exhibit enhanced ethanol self-administration and greater hormonal and behavioral responsiveness to stress in adulthood. Whether the effects of MS are immediately evident in infancy or whether they appear only later on development is still an unanswered question This study tested sensitivity to ethanol's behavioral stimulating effects in infant rats that experienced MS from postnatal Day 1-14. MS infants exhibited significantly greater reactivity to the motor stimulating effects of 1.25 g/kg ethanol than control animals, yet greater motor suppression after 2.5 g/kg ethanol. Baseline level of response to novelty was altered in MS infants, in a nor-binaltorphimine insensitive manner, that is, despite modified activity of the kappa-opioid system. These results indicate that the consequences of chronic maternal isolation emerge early in ontogeny, affecting ethanol sensitivity in infancy.
