ALTERATIONS IN ACTIVITY FOLLOWING ALCOHOL ADMINISTRATION DURING THE 3RD TRIMESTER EQUIVALENT IN P AND NP RATS

There is considerable variation in the consequences of alcohol abuse d uring pregnancy on infant outcome. Although it is clear that a number of factors contribute to this variability, one hypothesis that has rec eived recent attention is the role of genetic differences in response to alcohol. This study examined activity levels in the alcohol-preferr ing (P) and alcohol-nonpreferring (NP) rats following neonatal alcohol exposure. Although these lines were selectively bred for differences in voluntary alcohol consumption, they also differ in their sensitivit y and tolerance to alcohol. The P and NP offspring were artificially r eared and administered ethanol (either 6 or 4 g/kg/day) from postnatal day 4 (PN 4) until PN 10 via intragastric cannula. An artificially re ared isocaloric maltose group and a normally reared control group were also included. From PN 18 to PN 21, subjects were tested daily for 30 min in an automated activity monitor. Exposure to either the 4 or 6 g /kg dose of ethanol resulted in overactivity in P rats. However, only the 6 g/kg dose group displayed overactivity among the NP offspring. F urthermore, the level of overactivity displayed by the alcohol-exposed P rats was significantly greater then that displayed by the alcohol e xposed NP rats. These data suggest that genetic differences in respons e to alcohol may be a predictor for the behavioral teratogenic effects of alcohol.