Effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on physical growth, sensory reflex maturation and brain development in the rat.

In the offspring of ethanol-treated rats during gestation (25% ethanol in drinking water) decreased litter size, increased postnatal mortality rate, reduced body weight and body size, delayed ear opening, eyelid opening and teeth eruption, retarded air righting reflex acquisition, impaired brain growth, reduced cortical thickness and delayed maturation of layer Vth's pyramidal neurons: reduced basilar dendritic arborization and decreased number of spines in the apical dendrite, were observed when compared with age-matched controls fed with a standard diet. Minimal effects were found in the offspring of fibre-treated rats during gestation (standard diet mixed with cellulose) in which the body weight was similar to that of controls, although both the calorific intake from food and the mother's weight gain during pregnancy were similar to those of the ethanol-treated group. All these abnormal parameters became normal at the end of the first month of postnatal life, indicating recovery of these developmental defects produced by prenatal ethanol consumption.