Ethanol self-administration and motor deficits in adult C57BL/6J mice exposed prenatally to cocaine

Daily injections of 10 mg/kg cocaine on gestation days 12-18 did not alter maternal weight gain or offspring birth weight, viability, growth, or adult weight compared to saline controls. Adult male and female offspring were food deprived and trained to lever press for ethanol. Responding on an FR2 schedule and ethanol intake (g/kg) were recorded as measures of the reinforcing effects of ethanol. Lever press duration was used to assess motor performance. Results demonstrate that C57 mice will work for and consume lar ge quantities of ethanol and that prenatal cocaine exposure increased the amounts ingested by both male and female mice. Prenatal-cocaine-exposed males also exhibited motor deficits as indicated by longer response duration times compared to controls. The consumption of large amounts of ethanol exacerbated the motor impairment in prenatal-cocaine males and revealed such deficits in cocaine females. The present results demonstrate that maternal cocaine exposure, at doses having no observable effect upon pregnancy; birth, or offspring growth, can increase the consumption of ethanol and enhance its motor impairing effects on fully mature offspring. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Inc.