Prenatal alcohol exposure selectively enhances young adult perceived pleasantness of alcohol odors

PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR

卷:148

Article

Hannigan, John H.^1,2,3,4  Chiodo, Lisa M.⁵  Sokol, Robert J.^3,4  Janisse, James⁶  Delaney-Black, Virginia⁷ 

[1] Wayne State Univ, Merrill Palmer Skillman Inst Child & Family Dev, Detroit, MI 40202 USA

[2] Wayne State Univ, Dept Obstet & Gynecol, Detroit, MI 40202 USA

[3] Wayne State Univ, Dept Psychol, Detroit, MI 40202 USA

[4] Wayne State Univ, CS Mott Ctr Human Growth & Dev, Detroit, MI 40202 USA

[5] Univ Massachusetts, Coll Nursing, Amherst, MA 01003 USA

[6] Wayne State Univ, Dept Family Med & Publ Hlth Sci, Detroit, MI 40202 USA

[7] Wayne State Univ, Carman & Ann Adams Dept Pediat, Detroit, MI 40202 USA

关键词: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.01.019

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can lead to life-long neurobehavioral and social problems that can include a greater likelihood of early use and/or abuse of alcohol compared to older teens and young adults without PAE. Basic research in animals demonstrates that PAE influences later postnatal responses to chemosensory cues (i.e., odor & taste) associated with alcohol. We hypothesized that PAE would be related to poorer abilities to identify odors of alcohol-containing beverages, and would alter perceived alcohol odor intensity and pleasantness. To address this hypothesis we examined responses to alcohol and other odors in a small sample of young adults with detailed prenatal histories of exposure to alcohol and other drugs. The key finding from our controlled analyses is that higher levels of PAE were related to higher relative ratings of pleasantness for alcohol odors. As far as we are aware, this is the first published study to report the influence of PAE on responses to alcohol beverage odors in young adults. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that positive associations (i.e., pleasantness) to the chemosensory properties of alcohol (i.e., odor) are acquired prenatally and are retained for many years despite myriad interceding postnatal experiences. Alternate hypotheses may also be supported by the results. There are potential implications of altered alcohol odor responses for understanding individual differences in initiation of drinking, and alcohol seeking and high-risk alcohol-related behaviors in young adults. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free