RNA Sequencing of the Long-Evans Rat Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Nucleus Accumbens Reveals Sex-Specific Developmental Changes and a Lingering Impact of Prenatal and Adolescent Alcohol Exposure in Females Only II

Yet, few preclinical studies have used double-hit models to examine how effects manifest across sex and lifespan. In this study, RNA-seq was used to analyze the effects of ethanol on the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of adult and adolescent male and female Long-Evans rats (n = 5+ per group, N = 144) that were exposed to ethanol during gestation, adolescence, or both.

During prenatal exposure, dams received either ethanol liquid diet (PAE group: 2.2% v/v EtOH on gestational day [G]6-8, 4.5% on G9-10, and 6.7% on G11-20) or control diets (PF pair-fed, FCL free-choice liquid diet). In adolescence, offspring were exposed to alcohol (AAE: 11h of 10% EtOH in tap water, 1h water access, 12h of water deprivation daily from prenatal [P] day 27-41) or given ad libitum water access (VEH). Brains were collected on P42 (adolescence) and P90 (adulthood).