Ethanol exposure during late gestation and nursing in the rat: Effects upon maternal care, ethanol metabolism and infantile milk intake

Abstract

Ethanol experiences, during late gestation as well as during nursing, modify the behavioral dynamics of the dam/pup dyad, and leads to heightened ethanol intake in the offspring. This study focuses on: a) behavioral and metabolic changes in intoxicated dams with previous exposure to ethanol during pregnancy and b) infantile consumption of milk when the dam is either under the effects of ethanol or sober. Pregnant rats received water, 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg ethanol, and were administered with water or ethanol during the postpartum period. Intoxication during nursing disrupted the capability of the dam to retrieve the pups and to adopt a crouching posture. These disruptions were attenuated when dams had exposure to ethanol during pregnancy. Ethanol experiences during gestation did not affect pharmacokinetic processes during nursing, whereas progressive postpartum ethanol experience resulted in metabolic tolerance. Pups suckling from intoxicated dams, with previous ethanol experiences, ingested more milk than did infants suckling from ethanol-intoxicated dams without such experience. Ethanol gestational experience results in subsequent resistance to the drug's disruptions in maternal care. Consequently, better maternal care by an intoxicated dam with ethanol experience during gestation facilitates access of pups to milk which could be contaminated with ethanol.

Prenatal alcohol exposure selectively enhances young adult perceived pleasantness of alcohol odors

“…Discerning the mechanisms by which PAE may affect odor responses – such as effects on ethanol metabolism, nursing, or infant feeding (e.g., Pueta et al, 2008) – or the influences of other prenatal or postnatal intervening factors that may affect responses to alcohol odors – such as the young adults’ own drinking, caregiver use, other prenatal and current drug exposures or use, paternal drinking – requires a much larger study. It is important to emphasize that this present correlational study can address neither a cause of differential alcohol odor ratings after PAE, nor the impact of other, potentially important intervening and more proximal factors.…”

Studying longitudinal trajectories in animal models of psychiatric illness and their translation to the human condition

“…In studies performed with rats, exposure of the fetus to alcohol in utero via maternal intake and/or postnatally can produce persistent alcohol preference in offspring. While intoxication of the dam postnatally impairs pup retrieval and nursing, adversely affecting maternal care, dams exposed to alcohol throughout pregnancy, on the other hand, are better able to tolerate alcohol, retrieve pups during periods of intoxication, and thus facility access of pups to alcohol-contaminated milk (Pueta et al, 2008). Because interaction with the mother, nursing, and alcohol exposure are all factors that could recruit the reward system, it is not surprising that alcohol preference persists among these offspring (Pepino et al, 2004; Ponce et al, 2011; Pueta et al, 2008).…”

“…While intoxication of the dam postnatally impairs pup retrieval and nursing, adversely affecting maternal care, dams exposed to alcohol throughout pregnancy, on the other hand, are better able to tolerate alcohol, retrieve pups during periods of intoxication, and thus facility access of pups to alcohol-contaminated milk (Pueta et al, 2008). Because interaction with the mother, nursing, and alcohol exposure are all factors that could recruit the reward system, it is not surprising that alcohol preference persists among these offspring (Pepino et al, 2004; Ponce et al, 2011; Pueta et al, 2008). Studies in rhesus macaques show that prenatal exposures to alcohol result in persistent differences in pre-pulse inhibition (Schneider et al, 2013), and other studies show interactive effects of stress and alcohol, such that offspring show alterations in dopamine-system function, HPA-axis activity, and exhibit a sensory processing disorder-like phenotype, all of which are observed among individuals with autism spectrum disorders, ASD (Converse et al, 2013; Schneider et al, 2004, 2008).…”

Ethanol effects on histobiochemical parameters of suckling pups borned from alcoholic rat mothers

“…Hence, the performance of the neonate can be directly influenced by the dam's milk (Irwin et al 2010). Studies conducted on lactating dams have shown that consumption of alcoholic beverages even in low quantities has a negative effect on milk production and the balance between the level of the dams' prolactin and oxytocin (Pueta et al 2008). Gramenzi et al (2006) reported that the incidence of alcoholic liver disease and deaths associated with liver diseases has increased in the recent years.…”