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One of the characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is evidence of some central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction (Abel, 1984; Clarren and Smith, 1978) and children with FAS are often mildly to moderately retarded (Streissguth et al., 1980; Streissguth et al., 1984). In addition to these intellectual deficits, a variety of behavioral dysfunctions have been noted in these children (Streissguth et al., 1984), some of which can occur even when intelligence is in the normal range (Shaywitz et al., 1980). Furthermore, it appears that children exposed to alcohol prenatally, but who do not demonstrate all of the criteria necessary for a diagnosis of FAS (retarded growth, distinct facies, and CNS dysfunction), are more likely to evidence behavioral disturbances than children not exposed to alcohol in utero (Streissguth et al., 1984). Thus, following identification of FAS some researchers suggested (eg, Chernoff, 1977; Clarren and Smith, 1978) that the developing brain is especially sensitive to the teratogenic effects of ethanol.

In 1978, a paper on the behavioral outcomes of FAS by Streissguth et al.(1978) reported that" many of these children were hyperactive... described as' always on the go'and'never sit still'... many were distractible; had short attention spans and could best be described as' fidgety. Similarly, some early papers on the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure in rats showed that the offspring of rats exposed to alcohol prenatally were overactive (Bond and DiGiusto, 1976; Branchey and Friedhoff, 1976). Shaywitz et al.(1976) even suggested, on the basis of very meager data, that prenatal alcohol exposure might cause a behavioral syndrome …