Effects of prenatal stress and ethanol on cerebellar fiber tract maturation in B6D2F2 mice: an image analysis study.

ABSTRACT

Two studies were carried out to evaluate the role of prenatal stress in the outcome of prenatal ethanol exposure on central nervous system maturation in offspring. B6D2F1 mice were paid-fed liquid diets containing either 25% ethanol-derived calories or an isocaloric amount of maltose-dextrin on days 12 to 17 of gestation. During this period, half of the dams in each dietary condition also underwent two daily one-hour periods of restraint stress. A fifth group, provided with lab chow and water ad lib, was left undisturbed throughout pregnancy. At birth, all pups were fostered to untreated dams. Neither prenatal ethanol nor prenatal stress affected the maturation of cerebellar fiber tracts as indicated by membrane lipid staining either on day 32 post-conception or at weaning, nor was there an interactive effect of ethanol and stress combined. On the other hand, fiber tract maturation was significantly retarded on both days by prenatal undernutrition caused by treatment-induced reductions in maternal food intake. In the second study, pregnant dams were divided into three groups, all of which were fed lab chow and water. One group underwent the same stressing procedure as in the first study while a second group was unrestrained but pair-fed to the stressed group. A third group was undisturbed and allowed food and water ad lib. The offspring of both prenatally stressed and pair-fed dams did not differ from each other in terms of cerebellar fiber tract maturation, but both groups exhibited immature fiber tract development relative to the offspring of ad lib-fed dams. These data suggest that alterations in maternal nutritional status due to the ethanol and stress treatments can affect cerebellar fiber tract maturation in developing offspring.