Effects of ethanol consumption and noise exposure during adolescence on hippocampal-related behaviors

ARAUJO AÑON, LC; CORSI, GN; MARCOS, S; MICHALINA, FJ; BUJÁN, GE; D'ALESSIO, L; GUELMAN, LR; MOLINA, SJ

Washington DC

Congreso; 52st Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (SFN), Neurosciencie 2023; 2023

Society for Neuroscience

Adolescents frequently consume alcoholic beverages in entertainment venues such as discos and bars, where they are often exposed to high levels of noise. Animal studies have demonstrated that both ethanol (EtOH) and noise can cause damage to the hippocampus (HC), a brain region associated with memory and anxiety-related behaviors. However, there is limited information regarding the effects of noise on female rats. Thus, the aim of this work was to examine the effects of EtOH and noise exposure on HC-related behaviors in adolescent female rats.Female Wistar rats (28-days-old) were subjected to a two-bottle choice intermittent EtOH intake paradigm for a duration of 4 weeks. Additionally, during the 6th and 9th drinking sessions, a subgroup of rats were exposed to noise (95-97 dB, 2h). Finally, Open Field, Elevated Plus Maze and Object Location tasks were performed.The results revealed that noise exposure alone led to an increase in anxiety-like behaviors, while EtOH intake alone or in combination with noise decreased head dipping (a risk assessment behavior). Moreover, both stimuli separately or together resulted in a decrease in exploratory behavior. However, no significant differences were observed in spatial and habituation memories.These findings suggest that both exposure to noise and EtOH during adolescence are capable of causing changes in HC-related behaviors of female rats. On the one hand, the fact that EtOH intake promotes lower exploration and risk assessment behaviors could be dangerous since it implies less caution and greater exposure to potential dangers. On the other hand, increased anxious behavior and decreased exploration of the environment, as observed in noise-exposed rats, could result maladaptive in different situations. Finally, the combination of both stimuli does not generate greater behavioral changes than those observed in rats that only consumed EtOH. These findings are clinically relevant since they reproduce part of the behavioral alterations in human adolescents, resulting in an appropriate animal model to investigate in the future the mechanisms involved in hippocampal alterations.