[Early changes in the integrative systems of the brain in rats during the combined action of ethanol and gamma-irradiation].

A study was made of Wistar male rats with the body mass of 250-270 g using neurohistological, electron microscopic and biochemical methods. The animals' heads were irradiated with gamma-quanta at a dose of 50 Gy, the rate of 6.7 cGy/s. Two minutes before or right after irradiation 15% ethanol solution (0.28 and 2.25 g/kg) was administered intraperitoneally. It was established that changes of interneuronal contacts in gamma-irradiation of the head were similar in nature to those caused by ethanol (2.25 g/kg). The effects of combined action of the above factors depended on the succession of exposure and a dose of ethanol. Slightly more noticeable synaptic changes, probably associated with mitochondrion affection and hyperhydration, were noted in ethanol administration (2.25 g/kg) after irradiation of the head.