Prenatal ethanol exposure alters ethanol-induced dopamine release in nucleus accumbens and striatum in male and female rats.

Using in vivo microdialysis, ethanol-induced dopamine release in nucleus accumbens and striatum was examined in adult male and female Long-Evans rats exposed prenatally to ethanol and in controls. Following dialysis, ethanol intake was measured in an operant paradigm. Control rats showed increased dopamine release in nucleus accumbens and striatum in response to 0.5 g/kg ethanol, but not to 1.0 g/kg. Fetal ethanol-exposed rats showed no dopamine response at 0.5 g/kg. At 1.0 g/kg, fetal ethanol-exposed males showed increased dopamine release in both structures. Prenatally exposed females showed no change in accumbens, and decreased release in striatum. Fetal ethanol exposure did not significantly influence ethanol intake. The findings suggest that prenatal ethanol exposure influences subsequent neurochemical responses to ethanol; however, how these neurochemical measures are related to ethanol intake could not be determined in the present study. Data are discussed in terms of sex-specific shifts in the dose-response function for ethanol-induced dopamine release resulting from prenatal ethanol exposure.