Preferencias o aversiones inducidas por la intoxicación con alcohol en función de la edad en crías de rata.

ARIAS, C; CHOTRO, M.G

Madrid - Espana

Congreso; XVII Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Psicología Comparada; 2005

Sociedad Espanola de Psicologia Comparada

There are no data indicating that alcohol can act as an aversive US before postnatal day 10 (PD 10). The few studies that have analyzed the unconditioned effects of alcohol in this developmental stage, either did not find any effect or reported conditioned preferences. This could be explained by considering the hypothesis of a sensitive period that ends on PD 9 in which the rat pup easily learns preferences for odors, even when these are paired with some aversive unconditioned stimuli. The opioid system plays a critical role in the acquisition of the learned preferences during this sensitive period. Considering that the reinforcing effects of alcohol are mediated by this neurochemical system, it seems possible that during this period the infant rat may learn preferences to ethanol after been intoxicated with the drug. A series of experiments, in which rat pups were intoxicated with alcohol before or after PD 9, assessed this possibility. The results indicated that before PD 9 ethanol intoxication induced preferences for ethanol, while few days later the same ethanol dose induced a conditioned aversion. In another series of experiments it was observed that the opioid system mediates the acquisition of the conditioned preference during the sensitive period. These results suggest that during the first postnatal days there are ontogenetical changes in the perception of the unconditioned effects of alcohol.