Because of the previous findings suggesting changes in the function of both the mPFC and NAC after ethanol exposure, we hypothesize that exposure to ethanol during development will reduce cell number and/or result in a decrease in dendritic branching and spines in the NAC and reduce dendritic branching and spines and changes the dendritic spine distribution in the mPFC. The effects are predicted to be sexually dimorphic as differential activity in the NAC was previously reported between male and female subjects exposed to ethanol during development (Lawrence et al., 2008).
