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Ethanol‐induced locomotor activity in adolescent rats and the relationship with ethanol‐induced conditioned place preference and conditioned taste aversion
Author(s) -
Acevedo María Belén,
Nizhnikov Michael E.,
Spear Norman E.,
Molina Juan C.,
Pautassi Ricardo M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21048
Subject(s) - taste aversion , conditioned place preference , taste , ethanol , preference , locomotor activity , psychology , developmental psychology , medicine , endocrinology , food science , chemistry , neuroscience , biology , biochemistry , addiction , economics , microeconomics
Abstract Adolescent rats exhibit ethanol‐induced locomotor activity (LMA), which is considered an index of ethanol's motivational properties likely to predict ethanol self‐administration, but few studies have reported or correlated ethanol‐induced LMA with conditioned place preference (CPP) by ethanol at this age. The present study assessed age‐related differences in ethanol's motor stimulating effects and analyzed the association between ethanol‐induced LMA and conventional measures of ethanol‐induced reinforcement. Experiment 1 compared ethanol‐induced LMA in adolescent and adult rats. Subsequent experiments analyzed ethanol‐induced CPP and conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in adolescent rats evaluated for ethanol‐induced LMA. Adolescent rats exhibit a robust LMA after high‐dose ethanol. Ethanol‐induced LMA was fairly similar across adolescents and adults. As expected, adolescents were sensitive to ethanol's aversive reinforcement, but they also exhibited CPP. These measures of ethanol reinforcement, however, were not related to ethanol‐induced LMA. Spontaneous LMA in an open field was, however, negatively associated with ethanol‐induced CTA. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 55: 429–442, 2013