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Pre‐ and postnatal alcohol exposure delays, in female but not in male rats, the extinction of an auditory fear conditioned memory and increases alcohol consumption
Author(s) -
Plaza Wladimir,
Gaschino Felice,
Gutierrez Camilo,
Santibañez Nicolás,
EstayOlmos Camila,
SotomayorZárate Ramón,
De la FuenteOrtega Erwin,
Pautassi Ricardo M.,
Haeger Paola A.
Publication year - 2020
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.21925
Subject(s) - extinction (optical mineralogy) , offspring , alcohol , psychology , physiology , pregnancy , developmental psychology , conditioning , nucleus accumbens , medicine , neuroscience , central nervous system , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , genetics , mineralogy , statistics , mathematics
Repeated exposure to alcohol increases retrieval of fear‐conditioned memories, which facilitates, among other factors, the emergence of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individuals with PTSD are more likely to develop alcohol and substance abuse related disorders. We assessed if prenatal and early postnatal alcohol exposure (PAE) increased the susceptibility to retain aversive memories and if this was associated with subsequent heightened alcohol consumption. Pregnant Sprague‐Dawley rats were exposed for 22 hr/day, throughout pregnancy and until postnatal Day 7 to a single bottle of sucralose ‐ sweetened 10% alcohol solution (PAE Group), or to a single bottle of tap water and sucralose (Control Group). Auditory fear conditioning (AFC) was performed in the adolescent offspring at postnatal Day 40. Freezing was measured during acquisition, retention and extinction phases, followed by 3 weeks of free choice alcohol intake. Female, but not male, PAE rats exhibited impaired extinction of the aversive memory, a finding associated with higher levels of 3‐4 Dihidroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) in the nucleus accumbens and heightened alcohol intake, respect to controls. These findings suggest that PAE makes females more vulnerable to long‐term retention of aversive memories, which coexist with heightened alcohol intake. These findings are reminiscent of those of PTSD.