RT Journal Article
T1 Long-Term Effects of Intermittent Adolescent Alcohol Exposure in Male and Female Rats.
A1 Marco, Eva M
A1 Peñasco, Sara
A1 Hernández, María-Donina
A1 Gil, Anabel
A1 Borcel, Erika
A1 Moya, Marta
A1 Giné, Elena
A1 López-Moreno, José Antonio
A1 Guerri, Consuelo
A1 López-Gallardo, Meritxell
A1 Rodríguez de Fonseca, Fernando
K1 adolescence
K1 alcohol
K1 cognitive function
K1 drinking-in-the-dark
K1 frontal cortex
K1 hippocampal formation
K1 neural plasticity
K1 sex differences
AB Alcohol is a serious public health concern that has a differential impact on individuals depending upon age and sex. Patterns of alcohol consumption have recently changed: heavy episodic drinking-known as binge-drinking-has become most popular among the youth. Herein, we aimed to investigate the consequences of intermittent adolescent alcohol consumption in male and female animals. Thus, Wistar rats were given free access to ethanol (20% in drinking water) or tap water for 2-h sessions during 3 days, and for an additional 4-h session on the 4th day; every week during adolescence, from postnatal day (pnd) 28-52. During this period, animals consumed a moderate amount of alcohol despite blood ethanol concentration (BEC) did not achieve binge-drinking levels. No withdrawal signs were observed: no changes were observed regarding anxiety-like responses in the elevated plus-maze or plasma corticosterone levels (pnd 53-54). In the novel object recognition (NOR) test (pnd 63), a significant deficit in recognition memory was observed in both male and female rats. Western Blot analyses resulted in an increase in the expression of synaptophysin in the frontal cortex (FC) of male and female animals, together with a decrease in the expression of the CB2R in the same brain region. In addition, adolescent alcohol induced, exclusively among females, a decrease in several markers of dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission, in which epigenetic mechanisms, i.e., histone acetylation, might be involved. Taken together, further research is still needed to specifically correlate sex-specific brain and behavioral consequences of adolescent alcohol exposure.
SN 1662-5153
YR 2017
FD 2017-11-28
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10668/27728
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10668/27728
LA en
DS RISalud
RD Apr 10, 2025