Adolescent Intermittent Ethanol Increases the Sensitivity to the Reinforcing Properties of Ethanol and the Expression of Select Cholinergic and Dopaminergic Genes within the Posterior Ventral Tegmental Area

Background Although not legally allowed to consume alcohol, adolescents account for 11% of all alcohol use in the United States and approximately 90% of adolescent intake is in the form of an alcohol binge. The adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) model developed by the NADIA consortium produces bi...

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Published in:Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research clinical and experimental research, 2019-09, Vol.43 (9), p.1937-1948
Main Authors: Hauser, Sheketha R., Knight, Christopher P., Truitt, William A., Waeiss, Robert Aaron, Holt, Ian S., Carvajal, Gustavo B., Bell, Richard L., Rodd, Zachary A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetylcholine receptors (nicotinic)
Adolescent Alcohol
Adolescents
Alcohol
Alcohol use
Alcoholic beverages
Alcoholism
Animals
Binge Drinking - metabolism
Binge Drinking - psychology
Central Nervous System Depressants - adverse effects
Child development
Complications
Dopamine - metabolism
Dopamine D3 receptors
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Drug abuse
Ethanol
Ethanol - adverse effects
Exposure
Female
Gene expression
Male
Nicotinic Receptors
Random Allocation
Rats, Wistar
Receptors, Cholinergic - metabolism
Reinforcement, Psychology
Reward
Rodents
Sensitivity
Teenagers
Underage Drinking
Ventral Tegmental Area
Ventral Tegmental Area - drug effects
Ventral Tegmental Area - metabolism
Ventral tegmentum
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Summary:Background Although not legally allowed to consume alcohol, adolescents account for 11% of all alcohol use in the United States and approximately 90% of adolescent intake is in the form of an alcohol binge. The adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) model developed by the NADIA consortium produces binge‐like EtOH exposure episodes. The current experiment examined the effects of AIE on the reinforcing properties of EtOH and genetic expression of cholinergic and dopaminergic factors within the posterior ventral tegmental area (pVTA) in Wistar male and female rats and in male alcohol‐preferring (P) rats. Methods Rats were exposed to the AIE or water during adolescence, and all testing occurred during adulthood. Wistar control and AIE rats were randomly assigned to groups that self‐administered 0 to 200 mg% EtOH. Male P rats self‐administered 0 to 100 mg%. Results The data indicated that exposure to AIE in both Wistar male and female rats (and male P rats) resulted in a significant leftward shift in dose–response curve for EtOH self‐administration into the pVTA. TaqMan array indicated that AIE exposure had divergent effects on the expression of nicotinic receptors (increased a7, reduction in a4 and a5). There were also sex‐specific effects of AIE on gene expression; male only reduction in D3 receptors. Conclusion Binge‐like EtOH exposure during adolescence enhances the sensitivity to the reinforcing properties of EtOH during adulthood which could be part of biological sequelae that are the basis for the deleterious effects of adolescent alcohol consumption on the rate of alcoholism during adulthood.
ISSN:0145-6008
1530-0277
DOI:10.1111/acer.14150