ALCOHOL EXPOSURE, SOCIAL BEHAVIOR, AND THE AMYGDALA

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People with Fetal Alcohol Sydrome (FAS) are known to have cognitive deficits. However, in comparison to individuals with similar cognitive deficits but were not exposed to alcohol, FAS individuals show more deficits in social behavior. This observation and others have lead to the question of how alcohol affects social behavior. In addition, the amygdala is thought to play an important role in social behavior and is adversely affected by the perinatal-alcohol exposure. This research will investigate the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure during three trimester equivalents on the amygdala. Unbiased-stereology will be used to compare volume differences in the amygdala nuclei. It is goal of this experiment to provide evidence for a neural mechanism for the deficits induced by alcohol exposure during development. In addition, possible gender differences will also be investigated.