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Female Rats Are More Sensitive to Enhanced Reinstatement of Alcohol Seeking Following Exposure to Both Alcohol‐related Cues and Yohimbine
Author(s) -
Bertholomey Megan,
Torregrossa Mary
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.1019.8
Subject(s) - yohimbine , craving , reinforcement , self administration , psychology , extinction (optical mineralogy) , alcohol , developmental psychology , audiology , medicine , pharmacology , psychiatry , addiction , social psychology , biology , antagonist , paleontology , biochemistry , receptor
Exposure to cues previously associated with drug use and to stress can each promote craving and increase the risk of relapse. Preclinical studies that have combined these stimuli in tests of the reinstatement of drug seeking have shown additive effects on craving‐like behavior, which was enhanced in female rats trained to self‐administer cocaine. Therefore, we predicted that exposure to the pharmacological stressor, yohimbine (YOH), and cues previously associated with alcohol reinforcement would produce additive effects on reinstatement and that this effect would be augmented in females. To test this hypothesis, male and female rats were trained to self‐administer a 10% ethanol/0.1% saccharin solution on a fixed ratio 1 schedule of reinforcement in 1‐hour sessions. Delivery of alcohol was paired with a light+tone cue. Responding was then extinguished, and rats were subsequently injected with either 1.25 mg/kg YOH or vehicle in the presence of absence of the light+tone cue during a non‐reinforced reinstatement test. As predicted, female rats showed reinstatement following both cue and YOH exposure alone and twice as great reinstatement when combined. In contrast, males only showed cue‐induced reinstatement which was modestly enhanced by YOH. These finding suggest that female rats are more sensitive to complex environmental factors in provoking a craving‐like response that might increase the risk of relapse to alcohol drinking. Ongoing studies are exploring the mechanisms that underlie sex differences in the ability of stress to enhance cue‐related alcohol seeking with the goal of developing behavioral and pharmacological approaches to preventing relapse. *Supported by K01DA071345, AHA 13BGIA16850030, and The PA Department of Health.