EFFECT OF FETAL EXPOSURE TO ALCOHOL ON AGING

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The major purpose of the proposed research will be to study the effects of fetal alcohol exposure on aging and longevity. A subsidiary goal will be to investigate several potentially important sequelae of fetal alcohol exposure that have not been examined by previous researchers. These include the effects of prenatal alcohol on sensory function, autonomic function, and attention. The primary concern of the proposed research is the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on aging. Is the lifespan of the fetal alcohol animal reduced and, if so, by how much? Second, does the fetal alcohol syndrome include, as one of its hidden or overlooked symptoms, either generalized accelerated aging of the central nervous system or selective accelerated aging of specific neural and/or behavioral systems? Third, how long do the behavioral effects of fetal alcohol exposure last? Which, if any, persist throughout the animals' lifespan? And, finally, do any of the deficits or abnormalities that disappeared (recovered) during development of early adulthood, reappear during the course of normal aging? The experimental plan of the proposed research is to maintain pregnant Fischer 344 rats on a liquid diet containing 35% alcohol derived calories day 6 post-conception until the day before parturition. Following parturition the animals will be tested periodically on battery of behavioral tasks designed to trace the emergence during development and the decline during senescence of simple motor and reflexive behaviors, sensory thresholds, sensory-motor integrity, attentional processes and autonomic reactivity.