Prenatal alcohol acute contamination of the amniotic fluid and different postnatal manipulations with this drug alter subsequent responsiveness to EtOH's chemosensory cues. In this study, the interaction between prenatal and postnatal alcohol-related experiences was examined. Alcohol administered in the amniotic fluid during gestational Day 21 potentiated subsequent alcohol-odor conditioned preferences resulting from postnatal pairings between the odor and sucrose intraoral infusions. No interaction was attained when examining the impact of the in utero experience with postnatal aversive conditioning defined by alcohol odor-citric acid pairings (Exps. 1a & 1b). In Exp. 2, infantile alcohol aversions derived from a state of acute ethanol intoxication were inhibited by prior alcohol experience in utero. Examination of alcohol levels in fetal trunk blood and the amniotic fluid suggests that the antenatal experience is related to the chemosensory perception of the drug rather than its intoxicating properties (Exp. 3). These results strongly suggest that the alcohol-related memory generated proximal to birth can modulate subsequent learning with the drug.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.