Age-related effects of chronic restraint stress on ethanol drinking, ethanol-induced sedation, and on basal and stress-induced anxiety response

FERNÁNDEZ, MACARENA SOLEDAD; FABIO, MARIA CAROLINA; ROBERTO SEBASTIÁN MIRANDA-MORALES; MIRIAM B VIRGOLINI; LAURA N DE GIOVANNI; CRISTIAN HANSEN ; ARANZA WILLE-BILLE ; NIZHNIKOV, MICHAEL E.; LINDA SPEAR; PAUTASSI, RICARDO MARCOS

ALCOHOL

ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016

0741-8329

Adolescentsare sensitive to the anxiolytic effect of ethanol, and evidence suggests thatthey may be more sensitive to stress than adults. Relatively little is known,however, about age-related differences in stress modulation of ethanol drinkingor stress modulation of ethanol-induced sedation and hypnosis. We observed thatchronic restraint stress transiently exacerbated free-choice ethanol drinking in adolescent, but not in adult, rats. Restraint stress altered explorationpatterns of a lightedark box apparatus in adolescents and adults. Stressedanimals spent significantlymore time in the white area of the maze and made significantly more transfers between compartments thantheir non-stressed peers. Behavioral response to acute stress, on the otherhand, was modulated by prior restraint stress only in adults.Adolescents,unlike adults, exhibited ethanol-induced motor stimulation in an open field. Stress increased the durationof loss of the righting reflex after a high ethanol dose, yet this effect was similar at both ages.Ethanol-induced sleep time was much higher in adult than in adolescent rats,yet stress diminished ethanol-induced sleep time only in adults. The studyindicates age-related differences that may increase the risk for initiation andescalation in alcohol drinking.