Insular dopamine and alcohol consumption in three animals models of mood disorders at adolescence

RUIZ P.; CALLIARI A; PAUTASSI R.M.

Puerto Varas

Congreso; VIII International meeting of the Latinamerican Society of Research on Alcoholism; 2017

Latinamerican Society of Research on Alcoholism

It is well known that monoamine systems are altered in mood (i.e., depression and mania) disorders, and that individuals, including adolescents, with this psychopathology exhibit enhanced alcohol consumption. This work assessed the relationship between insular dopamine levels and alcohol consumption in three pharmacological animal models of mood disorders. Thirty-day old, male and female, Wistar rats were used in three experiments. Depressive-like states were induced by reserpine (0.0 or 1.0 mg/kg/day, for 4 days), whereas mania-like states were induced by amphetamine (0.0 or 4.0 mg/kg/day, for 5 days) or methylphenidate (0.0 or 10.0 mg/kg/day, for 4 days). The animals were tested for motor activity in an open field test (OFT) after each administration. At termination of the chronic drug exposure, half of the animals were sacrificed to dissect the insular cortex and measure dopamine levels by HPLC. The other half was tested for ethanol intake in a two-bottle test (concentration: 5%, v/v; three 24 h tests, separated by 48 h). The results indicated that reserpine significantly decreased motor activity in the OFT, whereas amphetamine and methylphenidate significantly increased motor activity in the OFT. Dopamine levels were significantly decreased after reserpine and amphetamine, but not after methylphenidate. Reserpine treated females and amphetamine treated males exhibited increased alcohol consumption relative to control counterparts, whereas methylphenidate did not signficantly alter alcohol intake levels. The results suggest that decreased levels of monoamines at the insula may be one the factors associated with increased alcohol consumption in adolescents with mood disorders.