NEW EVIDENCES OF ETHANOL ANXIOLYTIC PROPERTIES IN THE INFANT RAT

MIRANDA MORALES, R.S.; NIZHNIKOV, M.E.; WATER, D.H.; SPEAR, N.E.

Concepción

Congreso; First Joint Meeting on Alcohol and other Drugs of Abuse: from molecules to human disorders; 2013

LASBRA-LARNEDA

Ethanol induces motivational (appetitive, aversive and anxiolytic) effects that are involved in the development of alcohol use and dependence. These effects have been analyzed through epidemiological and animal studies. Little is known, however, on the anxiolytic effects of ethanol during early infancy, perhaps due to methodological limitations associated with the obvious sensory and motor limitations of the infant rat. The main aim of this study was to validate a model for the assessment of ethanol?s anxiolytic effects in the infant rat. We tested ethanol effects on i) amelioration of conditioned avoidance; ii) ethanol intake in the presence of an aversive conditioned stimulus; iii) exploration of a novel, anxiogenic environment; and iv) innate aversion to a brightly illuminated area in a modified light/dark paradigm. Results indicated that low doses of ethanol (0.5 g/kg) attenuated the expression of conditioned aversion. Ethanol intake, however, was unaffected by simultaneous exposure to an aversive stimulus. An anxiogenic environment diminished ethanol stimulating effects, indicating that this effect is not indicative of an anti-anxiety effect. Animals given ethanol and evaluated in a modified light/dark paradigm exhibited increased time spent in an illuminated space, greater latency to escape from a brightly lit compartment and greater peeking-out behavior, than vehicle-treated animals. These new results suggest that ethanol?s attenuation of conditioned aversion and ethanol-induced increased time spent in an anxiogenic-like compartment are due to the anti-anxiety effects of the drug. These behavioral preparations can be used to inquire the neurobiological modulation on ethanol anxiolytic properties during early development.