Effects of ethanol access in a nursing or isolated context on intake in adolescence

MIRANDA-MORALES RS; HAYMAL, B; PAUTASSI R.M.

Berlín

Congreso; 2016 International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA) World Congress and 16th Congress of the European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ESBRA); 2016

International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism

The present set of experiments were aimed to assess the ethanol acceptance during infancy in a familiar or isolatedcontext and the lingering effects of ethanol pre-exposure at infancy upon adolescence ethanol consumption. InExperiment 1, infant rats were given 5% ethanol or water in a nursing or isolated context, during postnatal days (PDs)3, 7 and 11. Nursing context consisted in exposure of pups to ethanol/water while having the opportunity to sucklefrom their anesthetized dam located in a housing cage. Ethanol intake was evaluated during adolescence (PDs 33-36).Experiment 2 matched the amount of 􀃗uid ingested in both contexts at infancy and subsequently ethanol consumptionwas tested at adolescence (PDs 33-36 and a second session was added at PDs 43-46). In Experiment 3 isolated infantswere exposed to different ethanol concentrations (0, 2.5, 5.0 or 10.0%) and drug consumption was tested atadolescence. The results revealed a facilitative effect of the nursing context upon infantile 􀃗uid intake. Only ethanolintake in isolation enhanced drug consumption at adolescence. When isolated infants were matched to the sameethanol level consumed by their nursed counterparts, the effect on adolescence disappeared. Finally, exposure atinfancy to a wide range of ethanol solutions in isolation increased adolescent ethanol ingestion. Commondenominators that resulted in enhanced ethanol intake at adolescence were pre-exposure to ethanol via active consumption of the drug that induced a low-to-moderate level of intoxication, in an isolated context likely to inducestress. This suggests that pre-exposure to ethanol in a familiar environment may not be suf􀃖cient, by itself, to enhancepredisposition for ethanol use at adolescence.