1. Sex differences in the long-lasting consequences of adolescent ethanol exposure for the rewarding effects of cocaine in mice.
- Author
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Mateos-García A, Manzanedo C, Rodríguez-Arias M, Aguilar MA, Reig-Sanchis E, Navarro-Francés CI, Valverde O, Miñarro J, and Arenas MC
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Age Factors, Animals, Behavior, Animal drug effects, Conditioning, Psychological drug effects, Female, Humans, Male, Mice, Self Administration, Cocaine administration & dosage, Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors administration & dosage, Ethanol administration & dosage, Motor Activity drug effects, Reward, Sex Characteristics
- Abstract
Rationale: The practice of binge drinking is very common among adolescents of both sexes. It can have long-term consequences with respect to drug consumption during adulthood, but knowledge on these effects in females is limited., Objectives: The long-lasting effects of intermittent exposure to ethanol (EtOH) during adolescence on different cocaine-elicited behaviours, including locomotor reactivity, conditioned place preference (CPP) and intravenous self-administration, were evaluated in male and female adult mice. It was hypothesized that an EtOH binge during adolescence would increase sensitivity to the effects of a sub-threshold dose of cocaine and has a differential impact on the drug's effects in males and females., Methods: Adolescent OF1 mice (postnatal day (PND) 26) underwent a 2-week pre-treatment schedule consisting of 16 doses of EtOH (2.5 g/kg) or saline (twice daily administrations separated by a 4-h interval i.p.) administered on two consecutive days separated by an interval of 2 days. Three weeks later (PND > 60), we assessed locomotor activity responses induced by an acute injection of different doses of cocaine in experiment 1 and the rewarding effects of cocaine on the CPP (1 mg/kg) and intravenous self-administration (1 mg/kg/infusion) paradigms in experiment 2., Results: Pre-exposure to EtOH during adolescence altered motor reactivity to cocaine in a dose- and sex-dependent manner, increased sensitivity to cocaine in CPP and enhanced self-administration in adult mice., Conclusions: The effects of intermittent exposure to ethanol during adolescence are evident in adulthood, during which greater sensitivity and intake of cocaine is observed and differ in each sex.
- Published
- 2015
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