Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on GABAergic Neurons (2008)

Cuzon et al. report that chronic exposure to low levels of ethanol (producing a blood alcohol content three times lower than that defining legal intoxication in the United States) resulted in accelerated migration and differentiation of cortical GABAergic interneurons in embryonic rats.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/sfn-ntf021208.php

The Addiction Technology Transfer Centre - taken from the journal, Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research

These cutting-edge research articles are read and interpreted by a science writer, and then rewritten in lay terms.
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National Scientific Council on the Developing Child

Early Exposure to Toxic Substances Damages Brain Architecture. (2006).
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On categorizations in analyses of alcohol teratogenesis.

Sampson PD, Streissguth AP, Bookstein FL, Barr HM. Department of Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
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Low Dose Prenatal Alcohol Linked to Behavior

Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Childhood Behavior at Age 6 to 7 Years: I. Dose-Response Effect
"Maternal alcohol consumption even at low levels was adversely related to child behavior; a dose-response relationship was also identified. The effect was observed at average levels of exposure of as low as 1 drink per week."
PEDIATRICS Vol. 108 No. 2 August 2001, p. e34
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Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and fetal startle behaviour.

Fetal Behaviour Research Centre, School of Psychology, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT7 INN, UK. Little JF, Hepper PG, Dornan JC.
The startle behaviour of the fetus (both spontaneous and elicited) was examined in fetuses of mothers who drank alcohol and mothers who did not. Fetuses exposed to alcohol showed a higher frequency of spontaneous startles and were less likely to exhibit a normal startle in response to a vibroacoustic stimulus. These differences illustrate a teratogenic effect of alcohol on CNS functioning in utero, possibly associated with brainstem damage. PMID: 12127010 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy may delay the development of spontaneous fetal startle behaviour.

Hepper PG, Dornan JC, Little JF.
Fetal Behaviour Research Centre, School of Psychology, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 INN, UK . This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
The results suggest exposure to alcohol delays the natural maturation of spontaneous startle behaviour of the fetus but also has a smaller 'permanent' effect. It is suggested that these effects are mediated by alcohol exerting an effect on the inhibitory pathways controlling startle behaviour. PMID: 15639155 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Dose-dependent effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on synaptic plasticity and learning in mature offspring.

Savage, D. D., Becher, M., de la Torre, A. J. & Sutherland, R. J. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 26, 1752 - 1758, (2002)
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FASD Connections - animal research
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Exposure to low and moderate doses of alcohol on late gestation modifies infantile response to and preference for alcohol in rats

M. Gabriela Chotro and Carlos Arias, Facultad de Psicolog�a, Universidad del Pa�s Vasco (UPV/EHU), San Sebasti�n, Spain
Summary
These results are in accordance with data of studies in humans, and should be taken into account for clinical studies analyzing the relationship between prenatal ethanol exposure and later ethanol abuse problems.
ANN IST SUPER SANIT� 2006 | VOL. 42, NO. 1: 22-30
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