EARLY POSTNATAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE IN RATS - MATERNAL-BEHAVIOR AND ESTRADIOL LEVELS

Long Evans male and female rats were exposed to alcohol or control con ditions during the early postnatal period, and their maternal behavior was assessed between 25 and 29 days of age. Maternal behavior was ind uced by exposing experimental animals to pups, and behaviors included retrieval of pups and proximity to pups. After 5 days of continuous ex posure to pups, experimental animals were decapitated, and trunk blood was measured for levels of estradiol and progesterone. Alcohol-expose d animals showed a deficit in maternal behavior as measured by a longe r latency to retrieve pups than rats that were not treated with alcoho l. In addition, alcohol-exposed animals had lower levels of circulatin g estradiol than controls. These effects may also be explained by unde rnutrition as a result of artificial rearing. No difference in progest erone levels was found. As estradiol is important for the onset of mat ernal behavior in adult rats, it may be that the alcohol-induced decre ase in estradiol levels underlies the deficit in maternal behavior exh ibited by alcohol-exposed rats.