density on the apical Layer V pyramidal neurons in his PFC as well as an increase in immature spines. Alcohol exposure in rat pups during postnatal days 2–6 has been shown to affect cortical areas, such as primary somatosensory and motor cortices (Granato et al., 2003). In particular, the postnatal exposure produced a decrease in dendritic length and a reduction in the number of end points in the basilar dendrites of Layers II/III pyramidal neurons (Granato et al., 2003). Thus, of these pyramidal neurons, it is their dendritic trees—in particular their dendritic complexity and their spines—that are the most affected by prenatal alcohol exposure.
