Preconception ethanol exposure changes anxiety, depressive and checking-like behavior and alter the expression levels of MAO-B in male offspring

Alcohol use, which alters the epigenome, increases the probability that it could affect subsequent generations, even if they were never directly exposed to ethanol or even in utero. We explored the effects of parental ethanol exposure before conception on behavioral changes in the offspring. Considering the role of Monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) in dopamine turnover in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and its influence on behavior, and taking into account that ethanol exposure could alter MAO-B, we assessed the protein levels in the offspring. Male and female rats were exposed to ethanol for 30 days and then allowed ten days of abstinence. Afterward, they were mated with either control or ethanol-exposed rats. The F1 and F2 male offspring underwent tests to assess behavioral changes. Additionally, the levels of MAO-B in the PFC were evaluated. Results revealed that in the F1, anxiety increased only in the bi-parental ethanol-exposed male offspring in the elevated plus maze test (p < 0.05), while depressive-like behavior rose only in maternal and bi-parental ethanol-exposed offspring (p < 0.01). However, compulsive-like behavior increased in all ethanol-exposed offspring (p < 0.01). No significant phenotypic changes were observed in the F2. The levels of MAO-B in the PFC increased in the maternal (p < 0.05) and bi-parental ethanol-exposed offspring (p < 0.01). Our study demonstrates that parental ethanol exposure, even in the days preceding mating, adversely affects behaviors and induces molecular changes in the brain. Given these findings, it becomes imperative to monitor children exposed to parental (especially maternal) ethanol for the prevention of mental disorders.

Effects of Ethanol Exposure during Lactation on Ultrasonic Vocalizations of Rat Pups upon Their Isolation: Increase in Pup Distress Calls

Recording ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) is a highly sensitive tool to study the dam-pup social relationships, and USV recordings have been used to study the effects of ethanol on pups. Gestational effects of ethanol on the emission of USVs in rat pups have been studied in our previous research. In the present study, the effects of ethanol given to dams during lactation on the acoustic parameters of USVs emitted by isolated pups were examined. Ethanol was administered to dams from postnatal days (PNDs) 5-21. From PNDs 11-21, the high- and low-ethanol-treated dams were exposed to ethanol-containing water (v/v) at concentrations of 30% and 15%, respectively. Tap water without ethanol (0%) was provided to the control dams. The pups in all three ethanol-treated groups were separated from the dam and littermates on PNDs 4, 8, 12, and 16, and USVs produced by the pups were recorded for 5 min. It was found that elevated distress USVs with longer duration and higher percentage of frequency modulations were displayed by the pups from the high-ethanol dams. Alterations in USVs were particularly evident in the pups with a reduced body weight at PND 12. This effect might be because high-ethanol dams showed significantly lower intake of higher ethanol-containing water, and consequently, produced lower amount of milk, as well as exhibited poor maternal care. Insufficient maternal care and malnutrition resulted in pup growth retardation and increased mortality rate in the high-ethanol group, which were not observed in the low-ethanol or control pups. Accordingly, the pups in the high-ethanol group experienced elevated negative emotionality during isolation from their dam and increased emission of USVs. Longer duration and increased frequency modulation of pup USVs are expected to be noticed by the dam and to initiate/increase proper maternal care. It is concluded that ethanol given to lactating mothers has more serious consequences on pup development than the gestational ethanol exposure, and has more harmful effects on pups.

Alcohol sensitivity in women after undergoing bariatric surgery: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG), the most common bariatric surgeries performed worldwide, increase the risk to develop an alcohol use disorder. This might be due, in part, to surgery-related changes in alcohol pharmacokinetics. Another risk factor, unexplored within this population, is having a reduced subjective response to alcohol's sedative effects.

OBJECTIVES

To assess whether the alcohol sensitivity questionnaire (ASQ), a simple self-report measure, could pinpoint reduced alcohol sensitivity in the bariatric population.

SETTING

University medical centers in Missouri and Illinois.

METHODS

Women who had RYGB (n = 16), SG (n = 28), or laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery (n = 11) within the last 5 years completed the ASQ for both pre- and postsurgical timeframes, and 45 of them participated in oral alcohol challenge testing postsurgery. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and subjective stimulation and sedation were measured before and for 3.5 hours after drinking.

RESULTS

In line with faster and higher peak BACs after RYGB and SG than laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery (P < .001), postsurgery ASQ scores were more reduced from presurgery scores after RYGB/SG than after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery (-2.3 ± .3 versus -1.2 ± .2; P < .05). However, despite the dramatic changes in BAC observed when ingesting alcohol after RYGB/SG surgeries, which resulted in peak BAC that were approximately 50% above the legal driving limit, a third of these women felt almost no alcohol-related sedative effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Although RYGB/SG dramatically increased sensitivity to alcohol in all participants, meaningful interindividual differences remained. The ASQ might help identify patients at increased risk to develop an alcohol use disorder after surgery.

Maternal manipulation during late gestation (GDs 17-20) enhances ethanol consumption and promotes changes and opioid mRNA expression in infant rats

Fetal ethanol experience generates learning and memories capable to increase ethanol consummatory behaviors during infancy. Opioid system seems to be involved in mediating those alcohol-related behaviors. In this work, we proposed to study the impact of prenatal exposure to a moderate ethanol dose, upon ingestion of the drug and possible ethanol-induced molecular changes on opioid precursor peptides (POMC, Pro-enk and Pro-DYN) and receptors (MOR, DOR and KOR) mRNA expression, in hypothalamus. Pregnant rats received during gestational days (GDs) 17-20, a daily intragastric (i.g.) administration with 2g/kg ethanol or water. A third group of dams was left undisturbed during pregnancy (Unmanipulated group). Intake test was conducted at postnatal days (PDs) 14-15. Three groups of pups were performed: control (no intake test), water (vehicle) and 5% ethanol. At the end of intake test blood samples were taken to quantify blood ethanol concentrations (BECs) and hypothalamus sections were obtained to perform qRT-PRC assessment of opioid precursor peptides and receptors. The analysis of the consummatory responses (% of consumption) and pharmacokinetic profiles (BECs) suggested that maternal manipulation induced by i.g. intubations, during the last four days of gestation (whenever ethanol or water), are sufficient to induce infantile ethanol intake during infancy. Gene expression from the hypothalamus of unmanipulated group revealed that infantile ingestive experiences with ethanol can down-regulate expression of mRNA Pro-Dyn and up-regulate mRNA expression of MOR and KOR. Finally, MOR mRNA expression was attenuated by prenatal i.g. manipulation in pups exposed to 5% ethanol.

Challenges to the parental brain: Neuroethological and translational considerations

Extending from research documenting adaptive parental responses in nonthreatening contexts, the influences of various neuroethological and physiological challenges on effective parenting responses are considered in the current review. In natural habitats, rodent family units are exposed to predators, compromised resources, and other environmental stressors that disrupt HPA axis functions. With the additional physiological demands associated with caring for offspring, alterations in stress-related neuroendocrine responsiveness contribute to adaptive responses in many challenging contexts. Some environmental contexts, however, such as restricted nesting resources, result in disrupted maternal responses that have a negative impact on offspring wellbeing. Additionally, parental dysregulation associated with exposure to environmental chemicals or pharmacological substances, also compromise maternal responses with effects that often extend to future generations. Continued preclinical and clinical research elucidating parental responses to various stressors and physiological disruptors is necessary to provide valuable translational information identifying threats to effective parenting outcomes.

Effect of alcohol ingestion on plasma glucose kinetics after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery

BACKGROUND

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) increases the rate of alcohol absorption so that peak blood alcohol concentration is 2-fold higher after surgery compared with concentrations reached after consuming the same amount presurgery. Because high doses of alcohol can lead to hypoglycemia, patients may be at increased risk of developing hypoglycemia after alcohol ingestion.

OBJECTIVES

We conducted 2 studies to test the hypothesis that the consumption of approximately 2 standard drinks of alcohol would decrease glycemia more after RYGB than before surgery.

SETTING

Single-center prospective randomized trial.

METHODS

We evaluated plasma glucose concentrations and glucose kinetics (assessed by infusing a stable isotopically labelled glucose tracer) after ingestion of a nonalcoholic drink (placebo) or an alcoholic drink in the following groups: (1) 5 women before RYGB (body mass index = 43 ± 5 kg/m²) and 10 ± 2 months after RYGB (body mass index = 31 ± 7 kg/m²; study 1), and (2) 8 women who had undergone RYGB surgery 2.2 ± 1.2 years earlier (body mass index = 30 ± 5 kg/m²; study 2) RESULTS: Compared with the placebo drink, alcohol ingestion decreased plasma glucose both before and after surgery, but the reduction was greater before (glucose nadir placebo = -.4 ± 1.0 mg/dL versus alcohol = -9.6 ± 1.5 mg/dL) than after (glucose nadir placebo = -1.0 ± 1.6 mg/dL versus alcohol = -5.5 ± 2.6 mg/dL; P < .001) surgery. This difference was primarily due to an alcohol-induced early increase followed by a subsequent decrease in the rate of glucose appearance into systemic circulation.

CONCLUSION

RYGB does not increase the risk of hypoglycemia after consumption of a moderate dose of alcohol.

Mothering under the influence: how perinatal drugs of abuse alter the mother-infant interaction

Although drug-abusing women try to moderate their drug and alcohol use during pregnancy, they often relapse at a time when childcare needs are high and maternal bonding is critical to an infant's development. In the clinical setting, the search for the neural basis of drug-induced caregiving deficits is complex due to several intervening variables. Rather, the preclinical studies that control for drug dose and regimen, as well as for gestational and postpartum environment, allow a precise determination of the effects of drugs on maternal behaviour. Given the relevance of the issue, this review will gather reports on the phenotypic correlates of maternal behaviour in preclinical studies, and focus on the detrimental consequences on the mother-infant interaction exerted by the perinatal use of alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, cocaine and stimulants and opiates. The drug-induced disruptions of this maternal repertoire are associated with adverse maternal and infant outcomes. A comprehensive overview will help promote the refinement of the treatment approaches toward maternal drug use disorders and maternal misbehaviour, in favour of augmented parenting resiliency.

Sleeve gastrectomy surgery: when 2 alcoholic drinks are converted to 4

BACKGROUND

While it is well established that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) causes a rapid and heightened peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC), results from previous studies on the effects of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) on alcohol pharmacokinetics are conflicting. Data from 2 studies found SG did not affect BAC, whereas another study found SG caused a heightened peak BAC after alcohol ingestion. Moreover, these 3 studies estimated BAC from breathalyzers, which might not reliably estimate peak BAC.

OBJECTIVES

The aims of this study were to evaluate (1) the effect of SG, relative to RYGB and a presurgery group, on alcohol pharmacokinetics and subjective effects, and (2) whether breathalyzers are reliable in this population.

SETTING

Single-center prospective nonrandomized trial.

METHODS

We performed alcohol challenge tests in 11 women who had SG surgery 1.9 ± .1 years ago (body mass index = 35.1 ± 6.6 kg/m²), 8 women who had RYGB surgery 2.2 ± .4 years ago (body mass index = 30.0 ± 5.2 kg/m²), and 9 women who were scheduled for bariatric surgery (body mass index = 44.1 ± 4.0 kg/m²). BACs were estimated from breath samples and measured by gas chromatography at various times after consuming approximately 2 standard drinks.

RESULTS

BAC increased faster, peak BAC was approximately 2-fold higher, and feelings of drunkenness were heightened in both SG and RYGB groups relative to the presurgery group (P values<.001). BAC estimated from breath samples underestimated BAC by 27% (standard deviation = 13%) and missed peak BACs postsurgery.

CONCLUSIONS

SG, similar to RYGB, causes marked alterations in the response to alcohol ingestion manifested by a faster and higher peak BAC. The breathalyzer is invalid to assess effects of gastric surgeries on pharmacokinetics of ingested alcohol.

Effect of prenatal ethanol exposure on sexual motivation in adult rats

Maternal alcohol use during pregnancy adversely affects prenatal and postnatal growth and increases the risk of behavioral deficits. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of prenatal exposure to a moderate dose of alcohol on sexual motivation during adulthood. Rats were prenatally exposed to ethanol by feeding pregnant dams a liquid diet containing 25% ethanol-derived calories on days 6 through 19 of gestation. The controls consisted of pair-fed dams (receiving an isocaloric liquid diet containing 0% ethanol-derived calories) and dams with ad libitum access to a liquid control diet. The sexual motivation of offspring was evaluated during adulthood. The results revealed that the male and female pups of dams treated with alcohol exhibited reduced weight gain, which persisted until adulthood. Both male and female adult animals from dams that were exposed to alcohol showed a reduction in the preference score in the sexual motivation test. Taken together, these results provide evidence of the damaging effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on sexual motivation responses in adulthood.

Continuous and Intermittent Alcohol Free-Choice from Pre-gestational Time to Lactation: Focus on Drinking Trajectories and Maternal Behavior

BACKGROUND

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy and lactation induces detrimental consequences, that are not limited to the direct in utero effects of the drug on fetuses, but extend to maternal care. However, the occurrence and severity of alcohol toxicity are related to the drinking pattern and the time of exposure. The present study investigated in female rats long-term alcohol drinking trajectories, by a continuous and intermittent free-choice paradigm, during pre-gestational time, pregnancy, and lactation; moreover, the consequences of long-term alcohol consumption on the response to natural reward and maternal behavior were evaluated.

METHODS

Virgin female rats were exposed to home-cage two-bottle continuous- or intermittent "alcohol (20% v/v) vs. water" choice regimen along 12 weeks and throughout pregnancy and lactation. Animals were tested for saccharin preference, and maternal behavior was assessed by recording dams' undisturbed spontaneous home-cage behavior in the presence of their offspring.

RESULTS

Our results show that the intermittent alcohol drinking-pattern induced an escalation in alcohol intake during pre-gestational time and lactation more than the continuous access, while a reduction in alcohol consumption was observed during pregnancy, contrarily to the drinking trajectories of the continuous access-exposed rats. Long-term voluntary alcohol intake induced a decreased saccharin preference in virgin female rats and a significant reduction in maternal care, with respect to control dams, although the intermittent drinking produced a greater impairment than the continuous-access paradigm.

CONCLUSION

The present data indicate that both alcohol-drinking patterns are associated to modifications in the drinking trajectories of female rats, in pre-gestational time, during pregnancy and lactation. Moreover, long-lasting alcohol intake can affect sensitivity to natural rewarding stimuli and maternal behavior and sensitivity to natural rewarding stimuli in a pattern-related manner. This study underlies the importance of modeling human alcohol habit and its consequences on the mother-infant dyad, in order to prevent detrimental effects on offspring development and maturation.

Prenatal ethanol increases sucrose reinforcement, an effect strengthened by postnatal association of ethanol and sucrose

Late prenatal exposure to ethanol recruits sensory processing of the drug and of its motivational properties, an experience that leads to heightened ethanol affinity. Recent studies indicate common sensory and neurobiological substrates between this drug and sweet tastants. Using a recently developed operant conditioning technique for infant rats, we examined the effects of prenatal ethanol history upon sucrose self-administration (postnatal days, PDs 14-17). Prior to the last conditioning session, a low (0.5 g/kg) or a high (2.5 g/kg) ethanol dose were paired with sucrose. The intention was to determine if ethanol would inflate or devalue the reinforcing capability of the tastant and if these effects are dependent upon prenatal ethanol history. Male and female pups prenatally exposed to ethanol (2.0 g/kg) responded more when reinforced with sucrose than pups lacking this antenatal experience. Independently of prenatal status, a low ethanol dose (0.5 g/kg) enhanced the reinforcing capability of sucrose while the highest dose (2.5 g/kg) seemed to ameliorate the motivational properties of the tastant. During extinction (PD 18), two factors were critical in determining persistence of responding despite reinforcement omission. Pups prenatally exposed to ethanol that subsequently experienced the low ethanol dose paired with sucrose, showed higher resistance to extinction. The effects here reported were not associated with differential blood alcohol levels across prenatal treatments. These results indicate that fetal ethanol experience promotes affinity for a natural sweet reinforcer and that low doses of ethanol are also capable of enhancing the positive motivational consequences of sucrose when ethanol and sucrose are paired during infancy.

Prenatal and gestational cocaine exposure: Effects on the oxytocin system and social behavior with implications for addiction

Drug abuse during pregnancy is a major public health concern, with negative consequences throughout development. Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) in rats produces social behavior deficits with corresponding changes in neuroendocrine and monoaminergic signaling. The relevance of parental care in social behavior maturity cannot be ignored, and gestational exposure to cocaine severely disrupts parental care, thus impacting the early environment of the offspring. Oxytocin (Oxt) is critical in regulating social behaviors and central levels are disrupted following acute and chronic cocaine (CC) treatment in postpartum rat dams, coincident with deficits in maternal care. We will discuss studies aimed to determine the relative contribution of PCE and CC-induced deficits in maternal care to social behaviors and Oxt signaling across development. PCE results in decreased social (including parental) behaviors in adolescence and adulthood. PCE is also associated with increased aggression in adults. Rearing by CC-exposed mothers synergistically increases the behavioral effects of PCE. Rearing by CC-exposed mothers, but not PCE, disrupts Oxt levels and mRNA in regions relevant to social behavior, but does not affect receptors in postpartum adult offspring. Preliminary work indicates that PCE/CC rearing has dynamic effects on Oxt levels and receptors in neonatal rat pups, suggesting very early regulation of Oxt signaling. This work highlights how the interactive role of Oxt signaling and behavioral context throughout development can be derailed by drug abuse during pregnancy. The relevance of disrupted Oxt to intergenerational transmission of addiction is briefly discussed.

Participation of catalase in voluntary ethanol consumption in perinatally low-level lead-exposed rats

BACKGROUND

Environmental lead (Pb) exposure and alcohol abuse pose significant public health problems for our society. One of the proposed mechanisms of action of the developmental neurotoxicant Pb is related to its ability to affect antioxidant enzymes, including catalase (CAT). Ethanol's (EtOH) motivational effects are postulated to be mediated by the CAT-dependent acetaldehyde generated in the brain. The current study sought to investigate the role of this enzyme in the elevated EtOH intake previously reported in perinatally Pb-exposed rats.

METHODS

Thirty-five-day-old male Wistar rats exposed to 220 ppm Pb during gestation and lactation were offered escalating EtOH solutions (2 to 10%) or water, 2 h/d for 28 days. Once baseline 10% EtOH intake was achieved, they were injected with (i) saline (SAL), (ii) 3-amino 1,2,4 triazole (aminotriazole [AT], a CAT inhibitor, 250 mg/kg intraperitoneally [i.p.], 5 hours before the last 8 EtOH intake sessions), or (iii) 3-nitropropionic acid (3NPA; a CAT activator, 20 mg/kg subcutaneously [s.c.], 45 minutes before the last 4 EtOH intake sessions). Rats were then sacrificed, blood collected, and brain regions harvested for CAT activity determination. Additional studies evaluated EtOH intake and CAT activity in response to 10 and 30 mg/kg 3NPA. Both 3NPA and AT were evaluated for striatal cytotoxicity.

RESULTS

We observed that AT pretreatment blunted the increased EtOH intake, as well as the elevated CAT activity in blood, cerebellum, and hippocampus evidenced in the developmentally Pb-exposed rats that have consumed EtOH. Conversely, 20 mg/kg 3NPA further increased voluntary EtOH intake in these animals as compared with controls, concomitantly with a slight elevation in CAT activity both in blood and in the striatum, associated with no changes in striatal cytotoxicity.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest a participation of CAT, and possibly acetaldehyde, in Pb-induced high EtOH intake, and open up new avenues to elucidate the mechanism that underlies the Pb and EtOH interaction.

Social housing and alcohol drinking in male-female pairs of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

RATIONALE

Social environment influences alcohol consumption in humans; however, animal models have only begun to address biological underpinnings of these effects.

OBJECTIVES

We investigated whether social influences on alcohol drinking in the prairie vole are specific to the sex of the social partner.

METHODS

In Experiment 1, control, sham, and gonadectomized voles were placed either in mesh-divided housing with a same-sex sibling or isolation with access to ethanol. In Experiment 2, animals were given an elevated plus maze test (EPM) and then females were paired with a castrated male followed by isolation or mesh-divided housing with access to ethanol. In Experiment 3, subjects categorized as low or high drinkers based on initial ethanol intake were placed in mesh-divided housing with an opposite-sex partner of the same or opposite drinking group and ethanol access. Subjects were then moved back to isolation for a final ethanol access period.

RESULTS

Same-sex pairs showed social facilitation of drinking similar to previous reports. Gonadectomy did not affect alcohol drinking. Opposite-sex paired animals in Experiment 2 did not differ in alcohol drinking based on social housing. EPM measures suggested a relationship between anxiety-like behaviors and drinking that depended on social environment. Experiment 3 identified moderate changes in alcohol preference based on social housing, but these effects were influenced by the animal's own drinking behavior and were independent of their partner's drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

Social influences on alcohol self-administration in prairie voles differ based on the sex of a social partner, consistent with human drinking behavior.

Maternal care alterations induced by repeated ethanol leads to heightened consumption of the drug and motor impairment during adolescence: a dose-response analysis

Maternal ethanol exposure during lactation induces behavioral alterations in offspring, including disruptions in motor skills and heightened ethanol ingestion during adolescence. These behavioral outcomes appear to partially depend on ethanol-induced disruptions in maternal care. The present study assessed motor skills and ethanol intake in adolescent rats raised by dams that had been repeatedly given ethanol during lactation. Female rats (postpartum days [PDs] 3-13) were administered ethanol (0.5, 1.5, or 2.5 g/kg) or vehicle every other day and allowed to freely interact with their pups. During adolescence, the offspring were evaluated for motor coordination (accelerating rotarod test) and oral ethanol self administration. The lowest maternal ethanol dose (0.5 g/kg) mildly affected motor performance, whereas the higher doses (1.5 and 2.5 g/kg) resulted in motor coordination impairment and greater ethanol intake. Maternal care behavior was affected by ethanol in a dose-dependent fashion. These results indicate that early experience with ethanol during lactation, even when the drug dosage is kept relatively low, leads to long-term consequences in offspring. Dose-response effects on maternal care behavior (i.e., nest building, crouching) may underlie disruptions in motor development and greater ethanol intake resulting from these early ethanol experiences.

Prenatal and postnatal ethanol experiences modulate consumption of the drug in rat pups, without impairment in the granular cell layer of the main olfactory bulb

The effect of moderate exposure to ethanol during late gestation was studied in terms of its interaction with moderate exposure during nursing from an intoxicated dam. A further issue was whether behavioral effects of ethanol, especially the enhanced ethanol intake known to occur after moderate ethanol prenatally or during nursing, depend upon teratological effects that may include death of neurons in the main olfactory bulb (MOB). During gestational days 17-20 rats were given 0, 1 or 2g/kg ethanol doses intragastrically (i.g.). After parturition these dams were given a dose of 2.5g/kg ethanol i.g. each day and allowed to perform regular nursing activities. During postnatal days (PDs) 15 and 16, ethanol intake of pups was assessed along with aspects of their general activity. In a second experiment pups given the same prenatal treatment as above were tested for blood ethanol concentration (BEC) in response to an ethanol challenge on PD6. A third experiment (Experiment 2b) assessed stereologically the number of cells in the granular cell layer of the MOB on PD7, as a function of analogous pre- and postnatal ethanol exposures. Results revealed that ethanol intake during the third postnatal week was increased by prenatal as well as postnatal ethanol exposure, with a few interesting qualifications. For instance, pups given 1g/kg prenatally did not have increased ethanol intake unless they also had experienced ethanol during nursing. There were no effects of ethanol on either BECs or conventional teratology (cell number). This increases the viability of an explanation of the effects of prenatal and early postnatal ethanol on later ethanol intake in terms of learning and memory.

Effects of maternal alcohol consumption during breastfeeding on motor and cerebellar Purkinje cells behavior in mice

Purkinje cells (PCs) are the sole output from the cerebellar cortex. Their electrophysiological behavior may serve as indicator of chronic ethanol effects on the cerebellum. Here, we studied the effects of ethanol consumption through breastfeeding on motor behavior, histology and PCs electrophysiology. Mice with different maternal drinking regimen (ethanol, E or sucrose, S) during prenatal (E/and S/) and postnatal period (/E and/S) were compared. Motor performance in the runway and rotarod tests was significantly worse in mice exposed to ethanol prenatally (E/E and E/S) than in mice exposed to sucrose (S/S), with a limited influence, if any, of mother regimen during lactation (E/S vs E/E). A loss of 20-25% of PCs was found for both E/S and E/E compared to S/S mice but PC numbers were similar in S/E and S/S. Mean PC spontaneous simple spike firing rate and rhythmicity were higher in E/S and E/E than in S/S but there was no difference between S/E and S/S. Complex spike frequency was similar in all groups. In contrast, complex spike duration and the related pause induced on the simple spike firing were shorter in E/E and in E/S, but no difference was found between S/E and S/S. We conclude that cerebellar dysfunction induced by maternal ethanol consumption in mice depends upon the drinking regimen during pregnancy and not during lactation.

Gestational ethanol and nicotine exposure: effects on maternal behavior, oxytocin, and offspring ethanol intake in the rat

Alcohol consumption and smoking during pregnancy is common, despite the known adverse effects of these drugs on fetal development. Though studies on the effects of each drug separately are published, little is known about the effect of concurrent use of alcohol and nicotine in humans or in preclinical models. In this report, we examined the impact of continuous gestational exposure to both ethanol via liquid diet and nicotine via an osmotic minipump on maternal behavior, offspring ethanol intake, and oxytocin levels in a rat model. Dams were tested for the onset of maternal behavior with litters of unexposed surrogate pups and then killed to examine oxytocin levels within specific brain regions. Drug-exposed offspring reared by surrogate dams were tested for ethanol intake at either adolescence or adulthood, and oxytocin levels were measured in relevant brain regions after behavioral tests. Dams exhibited minor deficits in maternal care, which were associated with lower oxytocin levels in both the ventral tegmental and medial preoptic areas compared to control dams. Prenatal exposure altered sex-specific ethanol intake, with differential effects at adolescence and adulthood. Oxytocin system changes were also apparent in the ventral tegmental and medial preoptic regions of drug-exposed adolescent and adult offspring. These results suggest that dam treatment with ethanol and nicotine can somewhat negatively affect the early rearing environment, and that prenatal exposure to both of these drugs results in drinking behavior differing from what would be expected from either drug alone. Oxytocin's possible involvement in the mediation of these effects is highlighted.

Children's hedonic responses to the odors of alcoholic beverages: a window to emotions

The present study of 145 children and their mothers aimed to determine whether children's responses to the odors of alcoholic beverages were related to their mothers' reasons for drinking. Mothers completed a series of questionnaires to describe the emotional context in which they drink and whether they use alcohol to "escape" by changing their state of mind and reducing feelings of dysphoria. Children participated in two age-appropriate tasks that focused on the most salient psychological attribute of an odor, its perceived hedonic valence. To this aim, we determined children's liking, reaction times, and identification of individual odors including beer and whiskey in Task 1, and their preference for beer relative to odors that differed in hedonic valence in Task 2. The type of task and behavioral measure revealed different aspects of children's responses, to alcohol odors. In Task 1, verbally identifying an odor was a more difficult task than deciding whether they liked the odor. Although there were few group differences in liking for individual odors, children of Escape drinkers took significantly longer to determine whether they liked the odors. In Task 2, children of Escape drinkers preferred beer less often, particularly when it was compared with less pleasant odors. They preferred coffee to beer odors and, if their mothers did not smoke cigarettes, preferred the odors of cigarette smoke and pyridine to beer. These children experienced the odor of alcohol more frequently and in the context of mood disturbed mothers who felt guilty and worried about their drinking. Whether children who associate the odor of alcohol with such emotional contexts display a trajectory toward or against using alcohol to escape remains unknown.

Lactational state modifies alcohol pharmacokinetics in women

BACKGROUND

Given the physiological adaptations of the digestive system during lactation, the present study tested the hypothesis that lactation alters alcohol pharmacokinetics.

METHODS

Lactating women who were exclusively breastfeeding a 2- to 5-month-old infant and 2 control groups of nonlactating women were studied. The first control group consisted of women who were exclusively formula-feeding similarly aged infants, whereas the other consisted of women who had never given birth. A within-subjects design study was conducted such that women drank a 0.4 g/kg dose of alcohol following a 12-hour overnight fast during one test session (fasted condition) or 60 minutes after consuming a standard breakfast during the other (fed condition). Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels and mood states were obtained at fixed intervals before and after alcohol consumption.

RESULTS

Under both conditions, the resultant BAC levels at each time point were significantly lower and the area under the blood alcohol time curve were significantly smaller in lactating women when compared with the 2 groups of nonlactating women. That such changes were due to lactation per se and not due to recent parturient events was suggested by the finding that alcohol pharmacokinetics of nonlactating mothers, who were tested at a similar time postpartum, were no different from women who had never given birth. Despite lower BAC levels in lactating mothers, there were no significant differences among the 3 groups of women in the stimulant effects of alcohol. However, lactating women did differ in the sedative effects of alcohol when compared with nulliparous but not formula-feeding mothers. That is, both groups of parous women felt sedated for shorter periods of time when compared with nulliparous women.

CONCLUSIONS

The systemic availability of alcohol was diminished during lactation. However, the reduced availability of alcohol in lactating women did not result in corresponding changes in the subjective effects of alcohol.

The International society for developmental psychobiology 39th annual meeting symposium: Alcohol and development: beyond fetal alcohol syndrome

As has been repeatedly demonstrated, alcohol can exert deleterious morphological and physiological effects during early stages in development. The present review examines nonteratological links existing between alcohol and ontogeny. Human and animal studies are taken into consideration for the analysis of fetal, neonatal, infantile, adolescent, and adult responsiveness to the drug. Sensitivity to alcohol's chemosensory and postabsorptive properties, as well as learning and memory processes mediated by such properties, are examined from this developmental perspective. The studies under discussion indicate that, within each stage in development, we can trace alcohol-related experiences capable of determining or modulating alcohol seeking and intake patterns.

Ethanol affects calmodulin and the calmodulin-binding proteins neuronal nitric oxide synthase and alphaII-spectrin (alpha-fodrin) in the nucleus of growing and differentiated rat astrocytes in primary culture

The distribution of calmodulin (CaM) and the CaM-binding proteins neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and alphaII-spectrin (alpha-fodrin) in the nucleus of growing and differentiated astrocytes was analysed using immunogold electronmicroscopy. We also analysed the effect of moderate ethanol exposure on these proteins. For this, female Wistar rat were fed with an alcoholic liquid diet and exposed to males after several weeks. Pregnant rats were fed with this diet and, after birth, the foetuses brains were used to establish primary cultures of astrocytes. Astrocytes from control and ethanol-exposed rats foetuses were cultured in the absence or presence of ethanol (30 mM) for 7 days (growing cells) and 21 days (differentiated astrocytes). Our results indicate that all the proteins studied appeared mainly on the condensed chromatin of both control- and alcohol-exposed cells and that there are significant variations in the amount of these proteins between quiescent and dividing astrocytes. Altogether, we have not found a co-localisation between CaM and the CaM-binding proteins.

Heightened Ethanol Intake in Infant and Adolescent Rats After Nursing Experiences With an Ethanol-Intoxicated Dam

BACKGROUND

Preweanling rats detect ethanol (175 mg/100 ml) in maternal milk when the dam is moderately intoxicated. Repeated experiences with the intoxicated dam facilitate subsequent recognition of ethanol's chemosensory attributes and promote ethanol-related memories with a negative hedonic content. This memory has been attributed to the infant's acquired association between ethanol's chemosensory attributes and its disruptive effects on maternal care. In this study, infant and adolescent ethanol intake patterns were analyzed as a function of prior interactions, during early infancy, with their intoxicated dams.

METHODS

During postpartum days 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13, breast-feeding dams received an intragastric administration of either 2.5 g/kg of ethanol or water. Pups whose dams had been given one of these two maternal treatments were tested on postnatal day 15 for ingestion of 0% (water), 2.5, 5.0, or 10% v/v ethanol solution. During adolescence, remaining animals from these litters were first adapted to ingest water from drinking tubes and then were given simultaneous access to tap water and a given ethanol solution. The first day, a 3% v/v ethanol solution was used. This solution was increased by 1% ethanol each following day until the solution was 6% v/v ethanol.

RESULTS

Maternal drug treatment did not affect the body weights of dams, infants, or adolescents. Water intake during infancy and adolescence also was unaffected by prior maternal treatment. However, infants that had previously interacted with ethanol-intoxicated dams exhibited heightened ethanol intake scores (grams per kilogram and percentage body weight gains), especially when tested with 5 or 10% v/v ethanol solutions. Similarly, adolescent males (but not females) that had interacted with an intoxicated dam during infancy also had higher ethanol consumption levels than those that had interacted with a nonintoxicated dam.

CONCLUSIONS

Contrary to what might be expected in animals that acquire an aversive memory for ethanol's chemosensory cues as a function of prior interactions with an intoxicated mother, these results indicate that such interactions promote a long-lasting increase in ethanol intake. These results suggest that rats reared by intoxicated dams become sensitive to the negative reinforcing properties of ethanol.

The effects of pregnancy on ethanol clearance

We have studied the effects of pregnancy on ethanol clearance rates and on blood and urine ethanol concentrations (BECs and UECs) in adult Sprague-Dawley rats infused with ethanol intragastrically. Pregnant rats had greater ethanol clearance following an intragastric or intravenous ethanol bolus (3 or 0.75 g/kg, respectively) relative to non-pregnant rats (p<0.05). Pregnant rats infused with ethanol-containing diets for several days had lower (p<0.05) UECs than non-pregnant rats when given the same dose of ethanol. Non-pregnant rats infused ethanol-containing diets at two levels of calories (the higher caloric intake required by pregnant rats [220 kca/kg75/d] or the normal calories required for non-pregnant rats [187 kcal/kg75/d]) had statistically equal UECs, suggesting that increased caloric intake was not responsible for the effect of pregnancy. While the activity of hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) did not differ with pregnancy, gastric ADH activity was increased (p<0.001). Furthermore, total hepatic aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and hepatic mitrochrondrial protein were increased (p<0.05) and hepatic CYP2E1 activity was suppressed (p<0.05). The results suggest that pregnancy increases ethanol elimination in pregnant rats by: 1) induction of gastric ADH; 2) elevated hepatic ALDH activity; and 3) increased mitochondrial respiration. The greater ethanol clearance results in lower tissue ethanol concentrations achieved during pregnancy for a given dose, and this may have clinical significance as a mechanism to protect the growing fetus from ethanol toxicity.

Fetal or Infantile Exposure to Ethanol Promotes Ethanol Ingestion in Adolescence and Adulthood: A Theoretical Review

BACKGROUND

Despite good evidence that ethanol abuse in adulthood is more likely the earlier human adolescents begin drinking, it is unclear why the early onset of drinking occurs in the first place. A review of experimental studies with animals complemented by clinical, epidemiologic and experimental studies with humans supports the idea that precipitating conditions for ethanol abuse occur well before adolescence, in terms of very early exposure to ethanol as a fetus or infant. Experimental studies with animals indicate, accordingly, that ethanol intake during adolescence or adulthood is potentiated by much earlier exposure to ethanol as a fetus or infant.

METHODS

Two broad theoretical frameworks are suggested to explain the increase in affinity for ethanol that follows very early exposure to ethanol, one based on effects of mere exposure and the other on associative conditioning. Studied for 50 years or more in several areas of psychology, "effects of mere exposure" refers to enhanced preference expressed for flavors, or just about any stimuli, that are relatively familiar. An alternative framework, in terms of associative conditioning, is guided by this working hypothesis: During ethanol exposure the fetus or infant acquires an association between ethanol's orosensory (odor/taste) and pharmacological consequences, causing the animal subsequently to seek out ethanol's odor and taste.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The implication that ethanol has rewarding consequences for the fetus or young infant is supported by recent evidence with perinatal rats. Paradoxically, several studies have shown that such early exposure to ethanol may in some circumstances make the infant treat ethanol-related events as aversive, and yet enhanced intake of ethanol in adolescence is nevertheless a consequence. Alternative interpretations of this paradox are considered among the varied circumstances of early ethanol exposure that lead subsequently to increased affinity for ethanol.

Nursing from an ethanol-intoxicated dam induces short- and long-term disruptions in motor performance and enhances later self-administration of the drug

RATIONALE

During interactions with an ethanol-intoxicated dam, preweanling rats encode ethanol-related chemosensory information. These experiences have been observed to enhance subsequent recognition of ethanol's chemosensory properties and to modulate learning about ethanol.

OBJECTIVE

The present study tested the effects of ethanol-related nursing experiences on motor function in later infancy and adolescence and on ethanol intake during adolescence.

METHODS

Wistar-derived rats were reared by dams intragastrically administered with ethanol (2.5 g/kg) or with water during postnatal days (PDs) 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13. Later in infancy or in adolescence, these rats were tested on a motor coordination task (Accelerod) while either sober or acutely intoxicated with ethanol (1 g/kg). During adolescence, animals had simultaneous access to varying ethanol concentrations (3, 4, 5, or 6% v/v) and water.

RESULTS

Both infants and adolescents that had been reared by ethanol-intoxicated dams exhibited dramatic behavioral impairments in the Accelerod task when compared with the offspring of water control dams. Ethanol intoxication disrupted motor performance in both age groups, but this effect was independent of prior maternal treatment. When tested for voluntary ethanol intake as adolescents, those with prior nursing experiences with an intoxicated dam ingested more ethanol than adolescents reared by sober dams.

CONCLUSIONS

Early experiences with alcohol comprising interactions with an alcohol-intoxicated dam result in motor impairment and enhanced ethanol intake later in life.

Fetal learning with ethanol: correlations between maternal hypothermia during pregnancy and neonatal responsiveness to chemosensory cues of the drug

BACKGROUND

Fetuses learn about ethanol odor when the drug is present in the amniotic fluid. Prenatal learning comprising ethanol's chemosensory cues also suggests an acquired association between ethanol's chemosensory and postabsorptive properties. Ethanol-related thermal disruptions have been implicated as a significant component of the drug's unconditioned properties. In the present study, ethanol-induced thermal changes were analyzed in pregnant rats subjected to a moderate ethanol dose. This thermal response was later tested for its correlation with the responsiveness of the progeny to ethanol and nonethanol chemosensory stimuli.

METHODS

During gestational day (GD) 14, pregnant rats were subjected to a minor surgical procedure to place a subcutaneous telemetric thermal sensor in the nape of the neck. During GDs 17 to 20, females received a daily intragastric administration of ethanol (2 g/kg) or water, using solutions kept at room temperature. Maternal body temperatures were recorded before and after (4 consecutive hours) the administration of water or ethanol. Newborns representative of both prenatal treatments were tested in terms of behavioral activity elicited by the smell of ethanol or of a novel odorant (cineole). A third group of pups were tested in response to unscented air stimulation.

RESULTS

Ethanol administration during late gestation induced reliable maternal hypothermia, a thermal disruption greater than that observed in water-treated females. It was systematically observed that maternal ethanol-induced hypothermia negatively correlated with neonatal motor reactivity elicited by ethanol olfactory stimulation. No other significant correlations were observed in terms of responsiveness to cineole or to unscented air in animals prenatally exposed to ethanol or water.

CONCLUSIONS

In conjunction with prior research, the present results indicate that fetal ethanol exposure may yield learning of an association between ethanol's sensory and unconditioned properties. Ethanol-induced hypothermia during late gestation seems to represent a significant component of ethanol's unconditioned consequences. Specifically, ethanol-related thermal disruptions in the womb are highly predictive of neonatal responsiveness to ethanol's chemosensory cues that are known to be processed by the near-term fetus.

Reinforcement from pharmacological effects of ethanol in newborn rats

BACKGROUND

The preweanling period in the rat is characterized by acceptance of substantial amounts of ethanol and susceptibility to its reinforcing effects. It has been unclear, however, whether the neurobiological basis of ethanol reinforcement properties at this age is in ethanol's olfactory, gustatory, or pharmacological effects.

METHODS

The effectiveness of intraperitoneal (ip) ethanol as a reinforcer for newborn (3-hr-old) rats was tested toward separation of the orosensory and pharmacological sources of ethanol reinforcement. Responsiveness to a test nipple by pups given such pairings was compared with that of pups given unpaired presentations of the nipple and ethanol.

RESULTS

Reinforcement was assessed in terms of response to a surrogate nipple 1 hr after a single pairing of a similar nipple providing water (conditioned stimulus) and ip injection of ethanol (0.125, 0.25, 0.50, or 0.75 g/kg; unconditioned stimulus). Significant effects of ethanol reinforcement occurred with the lower doses (0.125 and 0.25 g/kg); higher doses of ethanol (0.50 and 0.75 g/kg) had no significant reinforcement effect. A second experiment determined that for conditioning with ip ethanol as the unconditioned stimulus, a conditioned stimulus consisting of only ingesting water or only suckling on an empty nipple also yielded significant reinforcing effects of ethanol, although with less strength than their combination. Both reinforcing doses of ethanol, 0.125 and 0.25 g/kg, yielded detectable concentrations of ethanol in the blood 5 min after injection, which were sustained at a significantly lower level 60 min after administration.

CONCLUSIONS

These data indicate that aside from possible, and likely weak, hematogenic sources of gustatory and olfactory attributes of ethanol, the basis of ethanol's reinforcement effect in neonatal rats is primarily pharmacological. For the pharmacological effects of ethanol to be reinforcing for the neonatal rat, concurrent appetitive activity on a nipple providing a fluid may be necessary for a substantial effect with this paradigm.