RADIAL-ARM MAZE DEFICITS IN RATS EXPOSED TO ALCOHOL DURING MIDGESTATION

Radial arm maze performance was examined in juvenile and adult rats prenatally exposed to alcohol for the relatively brief period of Gestational Days 7-13. When juvenile animals (26 days of age) were trained in the radial arm maze, alcohol-exposed offspring made significantly more errors than did animals in either nutritional or ad-lib control groups during the second and third blocks of trials. However, by the end of training, alcohol-exposed offspring performed the task at the same level as control animals. When these animals were retested at 90 days of age, radial arm maze performance was comparable to that of control animals, suggesting that once acquired, radial arm maze performance is retained into adulthood in animals prenatally exposed to alcohol. When radial arm maze training began in adulthood (90 days of age), rats prenatally exposed to alcohol demonstrated deficient radial arm maze performance. Thus, early behavioral experience may be useful for treating prenatal-alcohol-exposure-induced deficits in learning and memory.