Long‐lasting implications of embryonic exposure to alcohol: Insights from zebrafish research

The harmful consumption of ethanol is associated with significant health problems and social burdens. This drug activates a complex network of reward mechanisms and habit formation learning that is supposed to contribute to the consumption of increasingly high and frequent amounts, ultimately leadin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDevelopmental neurobiology (Hoboken, N.J.) Vol. 82; no. 1; pp. 29 - 40
Main Authors Cararo, José Henrique, Rico, Eduardo Pacheco
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2022
Subjects
Addictions
Alcohol
Animals
Cognitive ability
Danio rerio
development
Embryo, Nonmammalian
Embryogenesis
Embryonic Development
Ethanol
Ethanol - toxicity
Female
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - metabolism
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders - psychology
Fetal alcohol syndrome
neurochemical
nonmammalian model
Pregnancy
Reinforcement
Zebrafish
fetal alcohol syndrome
nonmammalian model
development
zebrafish
neurochemical
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Summary:The harmful consumption of ethanol is associated with significant health problems and social burdens. This drug activates a complex network of reward mechanisms and habit formation learning that is supposed to contribute to the consumption of increasingly high and frequent amounts, ultimately leading to addiction. In the context of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a consequence of the harmful use of alcohol during pregnancy, which affects the embryonic development of the fetus. FAS can be easily reproduced in zebrafish by exposing the embryos to different concentrations of ethanol in water. In this regard, the aim of the present review is to discuss the late pathological implications in zebrafish exposed to ethanol at the embryonic stage, providing information in the context of human fetal alcoholic spectrum disorders. Experimental FAS in zebrafish is associated with impairments in the metabolic, morphological, neurochemical, behavioral, and cognitive domains. Many of the pathways that are affected by ethanol in zebrafish have at least one ortholog in humans, collaborating with the wider adoption of zebrafish in studies on alcohol disorders. In fact, zebrafish present validities required for the study of these conditions, which contributes to the use of this species in research, in addition to studies with rodents.
ISSN:1932-8451
1932-846X
DOI:10.1002/dneu.22855