Previous research from this laboratory has indicated that one consequence of prenatal alcohol exposure in rats might be a deficit in being able to withhold prepotent responses. This research program proposes to further examine this inhibition deficit notion. Studies are aimed at elucidating the critical period or periods during gestation when alcohol exposure is required to exert an appreciable effect. Rat offspring exposed to alcohol during various periods of gestation will be tested for the acquisition of a variety of behavioral tasks that presumably require the inhibition of responses. We also plan to examine the influence of age at time of testing since preliminary data would suggest that this inhibition deficit diminishes as the animal matures. Finally, we plan on assessing the role of postnatal maternal factors in the etiology of this inhibition deficit. These data should help clarify the type and extent of behavioral abnormalities in rats resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure. Hopefully, the results of these studies will help to provide a clearer indication of the types of problems children exposed to alcohol prenatally may face.