Developmental differences in ethanol-induced sensitization using postweanling, adolescent, and adult Swiss mice

Abstract

Young mice develop very strong ethanol sensitization at doses that mimic binge drinking in humans. These results might explain why early ethanol drinking during adolescence is related to a higher prevalence of subsequent alcohol disorders.

Sensitization to the Stimulant Motor Effects of Ethanol Is Not Dependent On Tolerance to Ataxic or Sedative Properties of Ethanol in Female Mice

“…Our results indicate that animals that achieved the highest levels of sensitization were not the same as those that developed the highest tolerance to the depressant effect of EtOH. This study is in line with recent reports by Quoilin and colleagues who showed in outbred mice that adolescents require high ethanol doses to develop EIBS [38], and do not display any chronic tolerance to the sedative effect of EtOH using the same schedule of EtOH administrations [39]. They concluded that the development of EIBS in adolescent mice is not related to tolerance to the sedative effect of EtOH.…”

“…Mice were housed in groups of 10 in clear plastic cages (24 × 42 ×15 cm) and kept in a temperature (21 ± 0.5°C) and humidity-controlled (55 ± 10%) environment under an established photoperiod (07.00 -19.00 hours) with free access to food (Mouse and Rats, Maintenance, Extrudate; Provimi Kliba, Kaiseraugst, Switzerland) and tap water. In the present study, we used female mice in continuity with our previous work [13,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41] and also to keep consistency with the most relevant reports supporting our working hypothesis [37,39]. The number of animals was kept to a minimum, and all efforts were made to limit stress and to avoid animal suffering.…”

“…This study indirectly supports the hypothesis that EIBS and tolerance to the depressant effect of EtOH are separate phenomena. More recently, it has been shown that chronic exposure to high ethanol doses induced sensitization with higher magnitude in adolescent mice compared to adult mice [38]. Interestingly, this difference was not associated with age-related variations in chronic tolerance to the sedative effect of ethanol, measured by the latency and duration of loss of righting reflex (LORR) [39].…”

Age-related effects of chronic restraint stress on ethanol drinking, ethanol-induced sedation, and on basal and stress-induced anxiety response

“…intubation, which favored the expression of stimulant effects of ethanol. These results are consistent with studies conducted in Swiss mice (Quoilin, Didone, Tirelli, & Quertemont, 2012) and Sprague-Dawley rats (Acevedo et al, 2013), which considered the motor stimulant effects of ethanol as a proxy for ethanol's positive reinforcing effects.…”

Reward-centricity and attenuated aversions: An adolescent phenotype emerging from studies in laboratory animals

“…For instance, when examining ethanol-induced locomotor sensitization in mice, adolescents did not exhibit a context-dependent sensitization that was evident in adults (Faria et al, 2008). Moreover, in another study, adolescents required higher doses than adults in order to exhibit sensitization to ethanol, although once adolescents were given sufficiently high doses to express sensitization, they expressed greater sensitization than adults (Quoilin et al, 2012). Interestingly, whereas adolescents did not show context-dependent sensitization in the Faria et al (2008) study, they did express sensitization of the locomotor stimulant response when ethanol was given in the home cage rather than being paired with the test context—data which suggest that adolescents may find it difficult to show increased incentive salience to reward-predictive cues.…”