ARNDS--CORTICAL PLASTICITY AND LEARNING

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The long-term objectives of this project and the other four projects in the IRP grant are to understand the neurochemical and neuropsychological mechanisms of synaptic plasticity which are affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol and their relationship to cognitive/learning deficits in adulthood. Even before life begins, hundreds of thousands of Americans are affected permanently by exposure to alcohol through maternal drinking. Prominent among the adverse effects of exposure to even moderate levels of alcohol is cognitive/learning deficits. The specific aims of this project are to evaluate experimentally in adult rats the effects of fetal alcohol exposure on: 1. long-lasting synaptic enhancement (LTP) in two areas of cerebral cortex important for learning and memory in freely-moving rats, 2. important inhibitory synapses in areas of cerebral cortex involved in cognition and learning, and 3. measures of learning and retention in challenging behavioral tasks linked to LTP by prior work. The results of these experiments, together with those in this IRP grant package, will provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms by which prenatal alcohol exposure can disrupt the neurochemical and physiological mechanisms of synaptic plasticity that underlie cognition/learning. Such information can show the way to preventing life-long cognitive and behavioral handicaps.