Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Results in Long-Term Serotonin Neuron Deficits in Female Rats: Modulatory Role of Ovarian Steroids

Previous studies on male rodents found that prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) decreases the number of serotonin immunoreactive (5-HT-ir) neurons in the brainstem. However, data on the effects of PAE in females are lacking. In light of known sex differences in responsiveness of the 5-HT system and known effects of estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) in the brain, we hypothesized that sex steroids