P50 Component 4:Mitigating Prenatal Alcohol Damage: Role of the Glucocorticoid System

(Co-PIs: Allan & Caldwell; Co-I: Valenzuela) will examine whether communal housing ameliorates fetal ethanol-induced deficits in neurogenesis, dentate gyrus synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-sensitive learning, and whether improving the early maternal and social environment will re-set the hippocampal glucocorticoid system to its normal feed-back inhibitory role and ameliorate the observed hippocampal deficits. Their preliminary data support the hypothesis that early prenatal and postnatal environment can mitigate the effects of moderate PAE.