Early Responsiveness to Stimuli Paired With Different Stages Within the State of Alcohol Intoxication

Abstract

Rat pups' expression of an association between a taste signaling aversive consequences of alcohol was eliminated by the presence of a tactile stimulus that originally had signaled the absence of aversive consequences of alcohol intoxication. The results suggest the interaction of inhibitory and excitatory conditioning involving the aversive properties of alcohol.

Neonatal experiences with ethanol intoxication modify respiratory and thermoregulatory plasticity and affect subsequent ethanol intake in rats

“…In older pups the capability to metabolize ethanol through the central catalase system markedly decreases while peripheral accumulation of acetaldehyde increases due to an enhanced liver metabolic capability (Del Maestro & McDonald, 1987;Kelly et al, 1987, respectively). This pharmacokinetic profile appears to favor the acquisition of conditioned ethanol aversions in the older pups (Arias & Chotro, 2006;Molina, Pautassi, Truxell, & Spear, 2007;Pautassi, Godoy, Spear, & Molina, 2002).…”

Adolescent but Not Adult Rats Exhibit Ethanol‐Mediated Appetitive Second‐Order Conditioning

“…Adult (>P60) and preweanling (i.e., <P21 days) rats generally do not express preferences for visual, tactile, or taste cues (conditional stimuli, CS) that had been earlier paired with the postingestive effects of alcohol (unconditional stimulus, US). On the contrary, the predominant motivational effects of this association are aversive, as indexed by rats avoiding the ethanol‐paired texture or rejecting the taste previously paired with ethanol (Cunningham et al., 1993; Pautassi et al., 2002). However, tactile conditioned preferences mediated by postabsorptive ethanol have been found recently in preweanling infant rats by means of a relatively novel experimental preparation that makes use of second‐order conditioning (SOC; Molina et al., 2006, 2007).…”

“…In other words, ethanol‐mediated learning was tested in terms of the capability of the taste CS 1 to act as a reinforcer when paired with a novel tactile CS 2 . Particular attention was given to the possibility of ethanol exerting differential hedonic effects as a function of dose and PAT (Molina et al., 2007; Pautassi et al., 2002). Hence, the initial pairing of ethanol and the taste CS was performed using a relatively low (0.5 g/kg) and a relatively high (2.0 g/kg) ethanol dose.…”

Analysis of Ethanol Reinforcement in 1‐Day‐Old Rats: Assessment Through a Brief and Novel Operant Procedure

“…Recent studies indeed indicate that the nursing infant rapidly learns about ethanol’s positive and negative (anti‐anxiety) reinforcing effects especially when subjected to low‐to‐moderate ethanol doses [0.25 to 1.0 g/kg ethanol which yield peak blood ethanol levels (blood ethanol contents, BECs) ranging between 20 to 100 mg/dl] (Molina et al., 2006, 2007a; Pautassi et al., 2005, 2006, 2007). When utilizing higher ethanol doses (peak BECs typically greater than 150 mg/dl) the infant expresses conditioned avoidance of stimuli associated with ethanol’s postabsorptive effects (Molina et al., 1996, 2007a; Pautassi et al., 2002; Pueta et al., 2005).…”