Alcohol and pregnancy: Effects on maternal care, HPA axis function, and hippocampal neurogenesis in adult females

Abstract

Chronic alcohol consumption negatively affects health, and has additional consequences if consumption occurs during pregnancy as prenatal alcohol exposure adversely affects offspring development. While much is known on the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure in offspring less is known about effects of alcohol in dams. Here, we examine whether chronic alcohol consumption during gestation alters maternal behavior, hippocampal neurogenesis and HPA axis activity in late postpartum female rats compared with nulliparous females. Rats were assigned to alcohol, pair-fed or ad libitum control treatment groups for 21 days (for pregnant rats, this occurred gestation days 1 – 21). Maternal behavior was assessed throughout the postpartum period. Twenty-one days after alcohol exposure, we assessed doublecortin (DCX) (an endogenous protein expressed in immature neurons) expression in the dorsal and ventral hippocampus and HPA axis activity. Alcohol consumption during pregnancy reduced nursing and increased self-directed and negative behaviors, but spared licking and grooming behavior. Alcohol consumption increased corticosterone and adrenal mass only in nulliparous females. Surprisingly, alcohol consumption did not alter DCX-expressing cell density. However, postpartum females had fewer DCX-expressing cells (and of these cells more immature proliferating cells but fewer postmitotic cells) than nulliparous females. Collectively, these data suggest that alcohol consumption during pregnancy disrupts maternal care without affecting HPA function or neurogenesis in dams. Conversely, alcohol altered HPA function in nulliparous females only, suggesting that reproductive experience buffers the long-term effects of alcohol on the HPA axis.

Effects of early-life adversity on immune function are mediated by prenatal environment: Role of prenatal alcohol exposure

“…Findings in the present study are consistent with but do not fully replicate our previous data, which showed that alcohol consumption during pregnancy resulted in small but significant reductions in total nursing and increases in self-directed behaviors (Workman et al, 2015). It is likely that differences in the observation periods between the two studies could account for the difference in results.…”

“…Each observation consisted of a 75-min period during which each dam was observed once every 3 min for the following behaviors: licking and grooming (anogenital licking and body grooming were not distinguished), nursing [arched-back, blanket, passive (nursing while supine or on side)], and self-directed behaviors (eating, drinking, self-grooming, sleeping, and exploring cage). Negative maternal behaviors were scored if dams were stepping on pups, dragging pups (i.e., moving around the cage if pups remained attached to the nipples), and handling pups roughly, as previously described (Workman et al, 2015; Raineki et al, 2012, 2015). Additionally, the frequency of pups’ vocalizations was also recorded.…”

The impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on social, cognitive and affective behavioral domains: Insights from rodent models

“…Only one study found an increased proportion of dams engaging in negative pup-care behaviors (e.g., dragging pups). However, there were no alterations in positive care measures in this study (Workman, Raineki, Weinberg, & Galea, 2015). However, the increased observance of negative pup-care behaviors may be due to the extended observation time of the dam-pup interactions in this study, as negative care behaviors are rare occurrences and shorter observation times, like those in other studies, may not have been sufficient to observe any.…”

“…The one maternal behavior that does seem to be affected by alcohol ingestion, but not necessarily alcohol presence, is active nursing. No studies were found that utilized a high-dose exposure, but moderate gestational exposures decreased time spent in nursing postures, with a higher BAC and longer exposure reducing the time more significantly (Popoola et al, 2015, Workman et al, 2015). In conclusion, studies suggest that, while nursing behaviors may be impaired by alcohol ingestion, maternal-pup interactions are not significantly affected unless alcohol is present in the system.…”

Oxytocin and depression in the perinatal period—a systematic review

“…Moreover, evidence suggests that withdrawal from estradiol is linked to PPD in vulnerable women (Brummelte and Galea 2016). However, there is no consistent evidence that a decrease in the absolute concentrations of gonadal hormones is directly related to depressive symptoms in the postpartum period (Workman et al 2015). On the other hand, stress and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are intimately linked to the etiology of depression (Bale 2006;Brummelte and Galea 2010).…”