An animal model of ADHD based on prenatal alcohol and nicotine exposure. (360G-Wellcome-079314_Z_06_Z)

Although the aetiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is uncertain, it is frequently found to be associated with prenatal exposure to nicotine and alcohol. It is difficult to determine whether the association is due to direct effects of the drugs on development or is a consequence of exposure to a postnatal environment characterised by parental alcohol abuse and smoking. This project will address the issue with a well-established method for assessing attention in rats to investigate attentional effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol (in the laboratory in Brazil) and nicotine (in the laboratory in UK). The work will extend use of the chosen task to studyingthe effects of prenatal drug exposure on cognitive function in adulthood. It is argued that the proposed procedures might serve as a model for ADHD with higher face, construct and predictive validity than the few models available so far. The goals of the proposed research are to test the hypotheses that prenatal exposure to alcohol and nicotine produces behavioural deficits that resemble those seen in ADHD and that these deficits can be reversed by drugs