Anxiety response and restraint-induced stress differentially affect ethanol intake in female adolescent rats. (15th October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Acevedo, María Belén; Fabio, Maria Carolina; Fernández, Macarena Soledad; Pautassi, Ricardo Marcos
• Is Part Of: Neuroscience. Volume 334(2016)
• Page Start: 259
• Page End: 274
• Publication Date: 2016-10-15
• Subjects: AA average-anxiety responder -- ANOVAs analyses of variance -- Arc arcuate nucleus -- AUD alcohol use disorders -- BLA basolateral amygdala nucleus -- CEA central amygdala nucleus -- EPM elevated plus maze -- Fos-ir FOS immunoreactivity -- HA high-anxiety responder -- LA low-anxiety responder -- LDB light–dark box -- mPFC medial prefrontal cortex -- PD postnatal day -- PVC polyvinyl chloride -- PVN paraventricular nucleus -- RS restraint stress -- WHP Warsaw alcohol high-preferring; adolescents -- ethanol intake -- stress -- anxiety -- Fos immunoreactivity; Neurochemistry -- Periodicals; Neurophysiology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurochimie -- Périodiques; Neurophysiologie -- Périodiques; Neurochemistry; Neurophysiology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 612.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.08.011
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-4522

Abstract

Highlights: Adolescent female Wistar rats with high anxiety drank more ethanol than average counterparts. The promoting effect of high anxiety on ethanol intake was inhibited by stress. Restraint stress increased FOS immunoreactivity in paraventricular nucleus. Stress-induced FOS immunoreactivity was unaffected by level of anxiety response. Abstract: Anxiety disorders are more likely to occur in women than in men, usually emerge during adolescence and exhibit high comorbidity with alcohol use disorders (AUD). Adolescents with high levels of anxiety or heightened reactivity to stress may be at-risk for developing AUD. An approach to analyze if high levels of inborn anxiety predict greater ethanol drinking is to assess the latter variable in subjects classified as high- or low-anxiety responders. The present study assessed ethanol drinking in adolescent, female Wistar, rats classified as high-, low- or average-anxiety responders and exposed or not to restraint stress (RS, Exp. 1). Classification was made through a multivariate index derived from testing anxiety responses in an elevated plus maze and a light–dark box tests. RS was applied after animals had been initiated to ethanol drinking. Intake of sweetened ethanol was unaffected by level of anxiety response. Adolescents with high levels of inborn anxiety exhibited significantly higher intake of unsweetened ethanol than counterparts with standard levels of anxiety, yet this effect was inhibited by RS exposure. Experiment 2 assessed FOS immunoreactivity after RS. Stress induced a significant increase in FOS immunoreactivity at the paraventricular nucleus, yet this effect was unaffected by level of anxiety response. Female adolescents with high levels of basal anxiety may be at-risk for exhibiting increased predisposition for ethanol intake and preference. The study also indicates that stress may exert differential effects on adolescent ethanol intake as a function of the level of anxiety response.