Research

Prenatal exposure to alcohol does not affect radial maze learning and hippocampal mossy fiber sizes in three inbred strains of mouse

Frans Sluyter¹ , Laure Jamot² , Jean-Yves Bertholet³ and Wim E Crusio⁴

¹  Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre Institute of Psychiatry Kings College London, UK

²  Trophos SA Parc Scientifique de Luminy – Case 931 13288 Marseille Cedex 09 France

³  Institut de Psychologie Centre Henri Piéron Université de Paris V 71 avenue Edouard Vaillant 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt France

⁴  Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, CNRS UMR 5106 Avenue des Facultés 33405 Talence France

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Behavioral and Brain Functions 2005, 1:5doi:10.1186/1744-9081-1-5

Published:	22 April 2005

Abstract

Background

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on radial-maze learning and hippocampal neuroanatomy, particularly the sizes of the intra- and infrapyramidal mossy fiber (IIPMF) terminal fields, in three inbred strains of mice (C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ, and DBA/2J).

Results

Although we anticipated a modification of both learning and IIPMF sizes, no such effects were detected. Prenatal alcohol exposure did, however, interfere with reproduction in C57BL/6J animals and decrease body and brain weight (in interaction with the genotype) at adult age.

Conclusion

Prenatal alcohol exposure influenced neither radial maze performance nor the sizes of the IIPMF terminal fields. We believe that future research should be pointed either at different targets when using mouse models for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (e.g. more complicated behavioral paradigms, different hippocampal substructures, or other brain structures) or involve different animal models.