Altered brain functional connectivity and behaviour in a mouse model of maternal alcohol binge-drinking

Publication date: Available online 8 March 2018 Source:Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry Author(s): Lídia Cantacorps, Héctor González-Pardo, Jorge L. Arias, Olga Valverde, Nélida M. Conejo Prenatal and perinatal alcohol exposure caused by maternal alcohol intake during gestation and lactation periods can have long-lasting detrimental effects on the brain development and behaviour of offspring. Children diagnosed with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) display a wide range of cognitive, emotional and motor deficits, together with characteristic morphological abnormalities. Maternal alcohol binge drinking is particularly harmful for foetal and early postnatal brain development, as it involves exposure to high levels of alcohol over short periods of time. However, little is known about the long-term effects of maternal alcohol binge drinking on brain function and behaviour. To address this issue, we used pregnant C57BL/6 female mice with time-limited access to a 20% v/v alcohol solution as a procedure to model alcohol binge drinking during gestation and lactational periods. Male offspring were behaviourally tested during adolescence (30 days) and adulthood (60 days), and baseline neural metabolic capacity of brain regions sensitive to alcohol effects were also evaluated in adult animals from both groups. Our results show that prenatal and postnatal alcohol exposure caused age-dependent changes in spontaneous locomotor activity, i...
Source: Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research