the nucleus accumbens of female but not male rats (Lugo et al., 2006b). Male rats exposed to ethanol during the prenatal period show elevated dopamine (DA) in the NAC following self-administered ethanol compared to controls; this effect was not seen in females (Blanchard et al., 1993). In rats exposed to ethanol during the prenatal period, there are reductions in spontaneously active DA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which project to the NAC. Furthermore, stimulation of the NAC normalizes this reduction, suggesting an alteration in connectivity between these two structures (Choong and Shen, 2004). We have previously demonstrated alcohol exposure during development induces alterations in NAC activation in juveniles following a period of play (Lawrence et al., 2008) Additionally, social motivation, which involves activation of the NAC, has been suggested to be impaired by ethanol exposure during development (Gass et al., 2007, Kelly et al., 2009). Taken together, these findings suggest the strong possibility of altered neuronal survival and/or morphology in the NAC.
