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Monday, February 1, 2010

Effect of prenatal stress on alcohol preference and sensitivity to chronic alcohol exposure in male rats


In rats, prenatal restraint stress (PRS) induces persistent behavioral and neurobiological alterations leading to a greater consumption of psychostimulants during adulthood. However, little is known about alcohol vulnerability in this animal model.

We examined in adolescent and adult male Sprague Dawley rats the long-lasting impact of PRS exposure on alcohol consumption.

Our data suggest that negative events occurring in utero do not modulate alcohol preference in male rats but potentiate chronic alcohol-induced molecular neuroadaptation in the brain reward circuitry.

Further studies are needed to determine whether the exacerbated ΔFosB upregulation in PRS rats could be extended to other reinforcing stimuli. lasting impact of PRS exposure on alcohol consumption.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: vincent.vanwaes@rosalindfranklin.edu
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