Ethanol-exposed neonatal rats are impaired as adults in classical eyeblink conditioning at multiple unconditioned stimulus intensities.

Full Abstract

Binge-like exposure to ethanol early in development results in neurotoxic impairments throughout the brain, including the cerebellum and brainstem. Rats exposed to ethanol, during a period of time commensurate with the human third trimester, also show deficits in classical eyeblink conditioning (EBC), a cerebellar-dependent associative learning procedure. The relationship between ethanol-mediated EBC deficits and the intensity of the unconditioned stimulus (US) was explored in the current study. Neonatal rats were intubated and infused with ethanol (EtOH rats), sham-intubated and given no ethanol (SI rats), or reared as unhandled controls (UC rats). As adults, all rats underwent 10 days of 350 ms delay eyeblink conditioning with a tone conditioned stimulus (CS) and one of three co-terminating periorbital shock US. The frequency and topography of the conditioned eyeblink response (CR) were impaired in EtOH rats relative to UC rats. EtOH rats produced fewer CRs, with longer onset latencies, at all US intensities. In contrast, CR amplitude was impaired in EtOH rats at the highest US intensity only. Following conditioning, the unconditioned eyeblink response (UR) was analyzed in subsets of rats from each treatment group at five US intensities. Early ethanol exposure did not impair UR peak amplitude. The deficits in CR production are proposed to result from ethanol-mediated damage within specific regions of the EBC neural circuit.

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Author information

Author/s: Lindquist, Derick H (DH); Sokoloff, Greta (G); Steinmetz, Joseph E (JE);

Affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. dhlind(-atsign-)ku.edu

Grants: AA011945 (Agency:NIAAA NIH HHS) ; NS007487 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS) ; R01 AA011945-07 (Agency:NIAAA NIH HHS) ; T32 NS007487-04 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: Brain research (Brain Res), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-May; vol 1150 (issue ) : pp 155-66

Dates: Created 2007/05/14; Completed 2007/07/24; Revised 2008/11/20;

PMID: 17395165, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Acoustic Stimulation - methods
Analysis of Variance
Animals
Animals, Newborn
Behavior, Animal
Blinking - drug effects
Central Nervous System Depressants - blood; pharmacology
Conditioning, Classical - drug effects
Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation

Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation
Electric Stimulation - methods
Ethanol - blood; pharmacology
Female
Male
Rats
Rats, Long-Evans
Reaction Time - drug effects
Time Factors

Associated Chemicals: Central Nervous System Depressants (0) ; Ethanol (64-17-5)

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