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Binge ethanol intoxication heightens subsequent ethanol intake in adolescent, but not adult, rats
Author(s) -
Fabio María Carolina,
Nizhnikov Michael E.,
Spear Norman E.,
Pautassi Ricardo Marcos
Publication year - 2014
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.21101
Subject(s) - ethanol , binge drinking , young adult , psychology , physiology , alcohol , medicine , poison control , injury prevention , chemistry , biochemistry , environmental health
A question still to be answered is whether ethanol initiation has a greater effect on ethanol consumption if it occurs during adolescence than in adulthood. This study assessed the effect of ethanol initiation during adolescence or adulthood on voluntary ethanol consumption when animals were still within the same age range. Adolescent or adult rats were given 5, 2, or 0 ethanol exposures. The animals were tested for ethanol consumption through two‐bottle choice tests, before undergoing a 1‐week deprivation. A two‐bottle assessment was conducted after the deprivation. Adolescents, but not adults, given two ethanol administrations during initiation exhibited significantly higher ethanol intake during the pre‐deprivation period. These adolescents also exhibited a threefold increase in ethanol intake after 7 days of drug withdrawal, when compared with controls. These findings suggest that very brief experience with binge ethanol intoxication in adolescence, but not in adulthood, impacts later predisposition to drink. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc . Dev Psychobiol 56: 574–583, 2014.