Alcohol and the brain: Setting the benefit/risk balance

Chronic Ethanol Administration Induces Oxidative Alterations and Functional Impairment of Pancreatic Mitochondria in the Rat

“…The mean alcohol intake was 4.05 g·kg –1 ·day –1 and the mean total dose of ETOH ingested by rats was 228 ± 21 g. The final weight was similar in both groups of rats (374 ± 27 vs. 391 ± 21 g in the ETOH and saccharose groups, respectively). No tolerance, dependence or withdrawal was observed in the ETOH-fed rats, as also confirmed by previous studies in which animals were fed the same diet [10, 11]. The study was approved by the State Commission on animal experiments.…”

Genetic Factors Involved in the Effects of Developmental Low-Level Alcohol Induced Behavioral Alterations in Rats

“…The present findings show that developmental exposure to alcohol, at doses not associated with tolerance, dependence, withdrawal symptoms, or overt signs of toxicity (Battaini et al 1998;Cagiano et al 1998a;Govoni et al 1994), produces different long-lasting behav-ioral changes in the offspring of two rat lines (sP and sNP rats) selectively bred for opposite alcohol preference and consumption. In agreement with our recent findings (Tattoli et al 2001), the present results, showing a selective differential sensitivity (end-point specific) of sP and sNP lines to developmental low alcohol exposure, suggest that genetic factors may confer specific susceptibility to ARNDs.…”

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and neurochemical effects of perinatal alcohol exposure (3% v/v solution from Day 15 of gestation to Day 7 after parturition) have been investigated in Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) and alcohol-nonpreferring (sNP) Previous data suggest that genetic factors could contribute to differences in susceptibility to alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorders (ARNDs) (Gilliam et al 1987;Gilliam and Irtenkauf 1990;Govoni et al 1994;Hannigan 1996;Riley and Lochry 1982;Riley et al 1993). A recent study in the present series has shown that offspring of Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) and Sardinian alcohol-nonpreferring (sNP) rats, selectively bred (from Wistar rats) for opposite alcohol preference and consumption, exhibited a different behavioral profile in response to perinatal exposure to this drug of

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Neurofunctional Effects of Developmental Alcohol Exposure in Alcohol-Preferring and Alcohol-Nonpreferring Rats

“…Specifically, the aim of the present study was to investigate, in sP and sNP male offspring, neurobehavioral, electrophysiological, and neurochemical effects of developmental exposure to alcohol at doses not associated with tolerance, dependence, withdrawal symptoms, or overt signs of toxicity (Battaini et al 1998;Cagiano et al 1998;Govoni et al 1994).…”