Alcohol and Early Ontogeny: Study of Possible Effects of Omega 3 on Reinforcing Aspects of Alcohol, in an Instrumental Conditioning Scheme for Children

Abstract

We propose to study the mechanisms that explain how alcohol exposure, during late gestation and/or the first postnatal weeks, evokes alcohol memories in neonates and infants. We intend to investigate whether the administration of Omega3 attenuates certain changes induced by moderate exposure to alcohol. The hypothesis is based on the fact that early ontogeny is a sensible period for the reinforcing aspects of the drug. And these experiences would modulate the neurobiological systems involved in the processing and expression of alcohol search and consumption behaviors. The general objective is to evaluate how prenatal alcohol exposure, in moderate doses, evokes alcohol memories in infant rats. Applying an infant instrumental conditioning procedure using alcohol as a positive reinforcer. We will evaluate if the administration of Omega3 mitigates the changes induced by alcohol, during late gestation. Offspring prenatally exposed to alcohol, with or without omega-3 administration, will be tested under the infant operant conditioning procedure (PDs 16 to 18) reinforced by alcohol or an alternative appetitive reinforcer. The representative animals of the different experimental groups will be sacrificed and the brains will be extracted to carry out dissections to analyze the expression of proteins involved in apoptotic neuronal death of the caspase 3 and 9 type by immunohistochemistry.