INIMEC - CONICET   05467
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACION MEDICA MERCEDES Y MARTIN FERREYRA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Assessing appetitive, aversive, and negative ethanol-mediated reinforcement through an immature rat model
Autor/es:
PAUTASSI RM; NIZHNIKOV M; SPEAR, N.E.
Revista:
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
Editorial:
Elsevier
Referencias:
Año: 2009 vol. 33 p. 953 - 974
ISSN:
0149-7634
Resumen:
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The motivational effects of drugs play a
key role during the transition from casual use to abuse and dependence. Ethanol
reinforcement has been successfully studied through Pavlovian and operant
conditioning in adult rats and mice genetically selected for their ready
acceptance of ethanol. Another model for studying ethanol reinforcement is the immature
(preweanling) rat, which consumes ethanol and exhibits the capacity to process
tactile, odor and taste cues and transfer information between different sensorial
modalities. This review describes the motivational effects of ethanol in
preweanling, heterogeneous non-selected rats. Preweanlings exhibit
ethanol-mediated conditioned taste avoidance and conditioned place aversion.
Ethanols appetitive effects, however, are evident when using first- and
second-order conditioning and operant procedures. Ethanol also devalues the
motivational representation of aversive stimuli, suggesting early negative
reinforcement. It seems that preweanlings are highly sensitive not only to the
aversive motivational effects of ethanol but also to its positive and negative
(anti-anxiety) reinforcement potential. The review underscores the advantages
of using a developing rat to evaluate alcohol´s motivational effects.