NOSE-POKING AND HEAD-DIPPING BEHAVIORS IN RATS PRENATALLY EXPOSED TO ALCOHOL

In three experiments pregnant female rats consumed liquid diets containing various amounts of the total calories in the form of ethanol. In the first study, offspring of these females were tested in a nose-poking paradigm. The frequency of this response was found to be a direct function of the level of alcohol exposure in utero. In a second study when nose poking produced the onset of a dim light, animals prenatally exposed to alcohol were again found to poke more often, and this effect was not attenuated by preweanling handling. Finally, the generality of these findings became evident when head dipping rather than nose poking was examined; head-dip frequency was higher in alcohol-exposed offspring, and this effect was independent of stimulus complexity. Additionally, offspring body weights and survival rates following this prenatal alcohol exposure are presented. © 1979.