ABSTRACT
Experimental approaches to the psychobiology of learning and memory typically divide behavior into various functional components, then evaluate the neural substrates of those components through correlation with specific neural events, or through selective manipulation of identified cell populations or synapses. In contrast, when considering the effects of a teratogen such as alcohol on the developing central nervous system (CNS), it should be clear that exposure of the CNS to alcohol is a general rather than a selective event and is subject to individual variation in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (Goldstein, 1983). Whereas many fundamental properties of neurons are disrupted by alcohol, the mechanisms of alcohol’s effects on the nervous system, including its toxicity on the developing nervous system, are not known (Michaelis & Michaelis, 1986).
