Prenatal alcohol exposure alters adult expression of sexually dimorphic behavior in the rat.

Saccharin preference and performance in a Lashley III maze were found to be altered in adult male and female rats that had been exposed to alcohol during gestation. Specifically, the sexual dimorphism normally observed in both behaviors was absent in fetal alcohol-exposed animals. The lack of sexual dimorphism appeared to result from a masculinization of the exposed females and a feminization of the exposed males.