Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42217535›Full record

ArticlePhysiology & behavior2026

Developmental alcohol exposure alters domains of executive function in rodents.

Georgia E Kirkpatrick, Zoey E Joshlin, Carolyn A Munson, Hailey B Trevathan, Sarah E Giang, Christine M Side, Donita L Robinson, Sandra M Mooney

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Physiology & behavior, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Georgia E KirkpatrickBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3290, United States.
Zoey E JoshlinBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3290, United States.
Carolyn A MunsonNutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kannapolis NC, 28081, United States.
Hailey B TrevathanBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3290, United States.
Sarah E GiangBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3290, United States.
Christine M SideBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3290, United States.
Donita L RobinsonBowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3290, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States. Electronic address: DLR@unc.edu.
Sandra M MooneyNutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kannapolis NC, 28081, United States; Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States. Electronic address: sandra_mooney@unc.edu.

Funding

Supplement to Molecular and Cellular Studies on Alcohol's ActionsT32AA007573 · NIAAA · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI FULTON T CREWS, Thomas L. Kash · 1997 to 2026
$9.3M
UNC PREP in the Biomedical Sciences - Administrative SupplementR25GM089569 · NIGMS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI ROBINSON, DONITA L, RODRIGUEZ-ROMAGUERA, JOSE · 2010 to 2024
$5.6M
Modeling alcohol exposure in gestation and adolescenceR03AA031378 · NIAAA · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI MOONEY, SANDRA M, ROBINSON, DONITA L · 2024 to 2025
$156k
NIAAA NIH HHS R03 AA031378NIAAA NIH HHS T32 AA007573NIGMS NIH HHS R25 GM089569
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Both prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and adolescent alcohol exposure (AAE) persistently impair executive function in humans and animal models. Executive function encompasses multiple interrelated domains including working memory, inhibitory control, and behavioral flexibility. We hypothesized that a developmental "double hit" of PAE and AAE would produce more severe behavioral deficits associated with these executive domains compared to alcohol-naïve and single-exposed animals. We tested this hypothesis in rats by assessing disinhibition (low-light elevated plus maze; LL-EPM), behavioral flexibility (attentional set shift test; ASST), and working memory (spontaneous alternations in a T-maze); we also tested behavioral flexibility (ASST) in mice. Pregnant Sprague Dawley rats received water or 5 g/kg alcohol from gestational day (GD)13.5-GD20.5, and offspring received water or 5 g/kg alcohol on a 2-day-on, 2-day-off paradigm from postnatal day (PD)25 to PD54. Pregnant C57BL/6J mice received water or 4.5 g/kg alcohol from GD13.5-GD17.5, and offspring received water or 4.5 g/kg alcohol on a 2-day-on, 2-day-off paradigm from PD25 to PD42. Offspring underwent behavioral testing in young adulthood. Double hit rats showed more exploration in the LL-EPM than controls, suggesting deficits in disinhibition. Double hit rats and mice exhibited more errors and/or more trials to criterion in the ASST, indicative of decreased behavioral flexibility. Overall, double hit animals showed altered performance on tests related to executive function, suggesting that the combined exposure alters executive function in a manner distinct from single-exposure models.

Indexed as

Central Nervous System DepressantsEthanolExecutive FunctionPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsAnimalsAttentionCognitive FlexibilityDisease Models, AnimalFemaleInhibition, PsychologicalMaleMaze LearningMemory, Short-TermMiceMice, Inbred C57BLPregnancyCentral Nervous System DepressantsEthanolAdolescentBehavioral flexibilityDouble hitFetal alcohol spectrum disorderInhibitionWorking memory

Identifiers

PMID42217535
PMCPMC13322122

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.