Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Timing Of Moderate Level Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Influences Gene Expression Of Sensory Processing Behavior In Rhesus Monkeys, Mary L. Schneider, Colleen F. Moore, Julie A. Larson, Christina S. Barr, Onofre T. Dejesus, Andrew D. Roberts

Physics and Astronomy Department Publications

Sensory processing disorder, characterized by over- or under-responsivity to non-noxious environmental stimuli, is a common but poorly understood disorder. We examined the role of prenatal alcohol exposure, serotonin transporter gene polymorphic region variation (rh5-HTTLPR), and striatal dopamine (DA) function on behavioral measures of sensory responsivity to repeated non-noxious sensory stimuli in macaque monkeys. Results indicated that early gestation alcohol exposure induced behavioral under-responsivity to environmental stimuli in monkeys carrying the short (s) rh5-HTTLPR allele compared to both early-exposed monkeys homozygous for the long (l) allele and monkeys from middle-to-late exposed pregnancies and controls, regardless of genotype. …