Psychology

The Effects of Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy: Exploring a Possible Link with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Presenter Information

Holly Brun, Hanover College

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Location

Indianapolis, IN

Subject Area

Psychology

Start Date

11-4-2014 10:15 AM

End Date

11-4-2014 12:00 PM

Description

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a specific set of behaviors that becomes prevalent in early childhood; such as, a lack of sociability and cognitive inflexibility as can be seen in: restricted interests and upset due to changes in habit. Currently, millions of individuals are affected by ASD. There are many theories as to causes of ASD, one environmental theory that has been considered plausible is prenatal alcohol exposure. This study explores this theory through the use of a rodent model. Two pregnant Long-Evans rats were given injections on gestation days 13-20. Each rat received injections twice daily; one was injected with a 40% ethanol mixture, at a dose of 2.0g/kg, while the other was given only saline as a control. The pups of each litter participated in behavioral assays designed to measure for ASD-like characteristics. These behavioral assays consisted of a "T-Maze" and "Learning and Exploration" test which each measured for cognitive inflexibility by measuring if the subject could complete a reversal task, and the amount of time spent with novel objects. The "3-Chambered" test was also used and measured for sociability by measuring the amount of time spent with a novel rat vs. an inanimate object. Results from the behavioral assays are expected to find that pups that were prenatally exposed to alcohol will perform poorly on the assessment tests; therefore depicting characteristics of ASD. These results would support a potential involvement of prenatal exposure to alcohol with ASD-like characteristics in young individuals.

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Apr 11th, 10:15 AM Apr 11th, 12:00 PM

The Effects of Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy: Exploring a Possible Link with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Indianapolis, IN

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a specific set of behaviors that becomes prevalent in early childhood; such as, a lack of sociability and cognitive inflexibility as can be seen in: restricted interests and upset due to changes in habit. Currently, millions of individuals are affected by ASD. There are many theories as to causes of ASD, one environmental theory that has been considered plausible is prenatal alcohol exposure. This study explores this theory through the use of a rodent model. Two pregnant Long-Evans rats were given injections on gestation days 13-20. Each rat received injections twice daily; one was injected with a 40% ethanol mixture, at a dose of 2.0g/kg, while the other was given only saline as a control. The pups of each litter participated in behavioral assays designed to measure for ASD-like characteristics. These behavioral assays consisted of a "T-Maze" and "Learning and Exploration" test which each measured for cognitive inflexibility by measuring if the subject could complete a reversal task, and the amount of time spent with novel objects. The "3-Chambered" test was also used and measured for sociability by measuring the amount of time spent with a novel rat vs. an inanimate object. Results from the behavioral assays are expected to find that pups that were prenatally exposed to alcohol will perform poorly on the assessment tests; therefore depicting characteristics of ASD. These results would support a potential involvement of prenatal exposure to alcohol with ASD-like characteristics in young individuals.