Hyperactivity in preweanling rats following postnatal alcohol exposure

Neonatal alcohol exposure in rats has been used as a model to study the effects of third-trimester alcohol consumption in humans. In the present research, male and female rat pups were artificially reared (AR) and received condensed alcohol exposure (6 g/kg/day or 4 g/kg/day) on postnatal days (PNs) 4 through 9. Controls consisted of both artificially reared animals receiving maltose-dextrin substituted for alcohol and normally reared animals. These rats were tested for open-field activity at 18 days of age for four days. Both male and female rat pups that received the high dose of alcohol (6 g/kg/day) evidenced overactivity relative to pups in both control groups. These findings extend previous work and indicate that neonatal alcohol exposure can induce hyperactivity in young male rats.