Unilateral whisker clipping exacerbates ethanol-induced social and somatosensory behavioral deficits in a sex- and age-dependent manner

• Prenatal ethanol exposure impairs social interaction and somatosensory performance.
• Neonatal sensory impoverishment potentiates prenatal ethanol-induced behavior deficits.
• Interactions of ethanol- and impoverishment-induced deficits are age and sex-dependent.
• Somatosensory function plays an important role in normal social development.
• Enhancement of somatosensory development may improve fetal alcohol outcomes.

Prenatal exposure to ethanol results in sensory deficits and altered social interactions in animal and clinical populations. Sensory stimuli serve as important cues and shape sensory development; developmental exposure to ethanol or sensory impoverishment can impair somatosensory development, but their combined effects on behavioral outcomes are unknown. We hypothesized 1) that chronic prenatal ethanol exposure would disrupt social interaction and somatosensory performance during adolescence, 2) that a mild sensory impoverishment (neonatal unilateral whisker clipping; WC) would have a mildly impairing to sub-threshold effect on these behavioral outcomes, and 3) that the effect of ethanol would be exacerbated by WC. Long–Evans dams were fed a liquid diet containing ethanol or pair-fed with a non-ethanol diet on gestational days (G) 6–G21. Chow-fed control animals were also included. One male and female pup per litter underwent WC on postnatal day (P)1, P3, and P5. Controls were unclipped. Offspring underwent social interaction on P28 or P42, and gap-crossing (GC) on P31 or P42. Ethanol-exposed pups played less and crossed shorter gaps than control pups regardless of age or sex. WC further exacerbated ethanol-induced play fighting and GC deficits in all males but only in 28-day-old females. WC alone reduced sniffing in all males and in younger females. Thus, prenatal ethanol exposure induced deficits in social interaction and somatosensory performance during adolescence. Sensory impoverishment exacerbates ethanol's effect in 28-day-old male and female animals and in 42-day-old males, suggesting sex- and age-dependent changes in outcomes in ethanol-exposed offspring.