The adolescent social isolation of rats exposed to ethanol in uterus and lactation increases ethanol consumption in the adulthood

CARRIZO-LARGO, J; FERNANDEZ M.; PLAZA W; FERNÁNDEZ P; PAUTASSI R.M.

Puerto Varas

Congreso; VIII LASBRA International meeting: Neurobiological basis of alcoholism: from molecules to behavior; 2017

Latin American Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism

Chronic stress during adolescence and prenatal ethanol exposure are considered vulnerability factors for the establishment of alcohol abuse disorders (AUD). This study determined if PEE animals with a history of stress exposure increase their ethanol consumption at adulthood, when compared to control peers. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to water or ethanol (10% v/v) both sweetened with 64 mg/l of sucralose during whole pregnancy period and 7 days post delivery. At adolescence (P21), control or developmental ethanol exposure (DEE) animals were housed in social isolation (SI) or in group conditions for 5 weeks. All animals were then tested for ethanol intake (5 or 10%, vs water) in a free choice and intermittent form. The percentage of ethanol preference and the grams of ethanol consumed were measured every two days for 4 weeks. Our results indicated that SI increased ethanol intake in DEE compared with SI control, rats. We suggest that PEE exacerbates stress-induced ethanol drinking. Follow-up studies will dissect the role of stress in the vulnerability of DEE animals to acquire alcohol abuse disorders.