Work

Binge ethanol intoxication heightens subsequent ethanol intake in adolescent, but not adult, rats

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: A question still to be answered is whether ethanol initiation has a greater effect on ethanol consumption if it occurs during adolescence than in adulthood. This study assessed the effect of ethanol initiation during adolescence or adulthood on voluntary ethanol consumption when animals were still within the same age range. Adolescent or adult rats were given 5, 2, or 0 ethanol exposures. The animals were tested for ethanol consumption through two-bottle choice tests, before undergoing a 1-week deprivation. A two-bottle assessment was conducted after the deprivation. Adolescents, but not adults, given two ethanol administrations during initiation exhibited significantly higher ethanol intake during the pre-deprivation period. These adolescents also exhibited a threefold increase in ethanol intake after 7 days of drug withdrawal, when compared with controls. These findings suggest that very brief experience with binge ethanol intoxication in adolescence, but not in adulthood, impacts later predisposition to drink.

Source: Developmental Psychobiology

DOI: 10.1002/dev.21101

Authors: María Carolina Fabio, Michael E. Nizhnikov, Norman E. Spear, Ricardo Marcos Pautassi

Institutions: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra, Binghamton University

Language: English

Topic: Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism