Effects of adolescent caffeine consumption on cocaine self-administration and reinstatement of cocaine seeking

Abstract

Background: Caffeine consumption by children and adolescents has risen dramatically in recent years, yet the lasting effects of caffeine consumption during adolescence remain poorly understood. Aim: These experiments explore the effects of adolescent caffeine consumption on cocaine selfadministration and seeking using a rodent model. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats consumed caffeine for 28 days during the adolescent period. Following the caffeine consumption period, the caffeine solution was replaced with water for the remainder of the experiment. Age-matched control rats received water for the duration of the study. Behavioral testing in a cocaine self-administration procedure occurred during adulthood (postnatal days 62-82) to evaluate how adolescent caffeine exposure influenced the reinforcing properties of cocaine. Cocaine seeking was also tested during extinction training and reinstatement tests following cocaine self-administration. Results: Adolescent caffeine consumption increased the acquisition of cocaine selfadministration and increased performance on different schedules of reinforcement. Consumption of caffeine in adult rats did not produce similar enhancements in cocaine self-administration. Adolescent caffeine consumption also produced an upward shift in the U-shaped dose response curve on cocaine self-administration maintained on a within-session dose-response procedure. Adolescent caffeine consumption had no effect on cocaine seeking during extinction training or reinstatement of cocaine seeking by cues or cocaine. Conclusions: These findings suggest that caffeine consumption during adolescence may enhance the reinforcing properties of cocaine, leading to enhanced acquisition that may contribute to increased addiction vulnerability.

Electro‐acupuncture alleviates adolescent cocaine exposure‐enhanced anxiety‐like behaviors in adult mice by attenuating the activities of PV interneurons in PrL

“…Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the development of substance use 1,2 . Early exposure to drugs could result in emotional disorders that even persist into adulthood 3‐6 . Our recent study finds that adolescent cocaine exposure (ACE) result in an enhancement of local γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) transmission in prefrontal cortex (PFC), accompanied by increased anxiety‐like behaviors in adult mice 7 .…”

Caffeinated soda intake in children is associated with neurobehavioral risk factors for substance misuse

“…The consequences of excessive consumption of both sugar and caffeine have been well documented (Porciúncula, Sallaberry, Mioranzza, Botton, & Rosemberg, 2013), and include negative health outcomes such as obesity and dental caries (Bremer & Lustig, 2012;Ludwig et al, 2001). Animal studies have also shown that excessive sugar intake (Colantuoni et al, 2001) and caffeine consumption (Larson, O'Neill, Palumbo, & Bachtell, 2019;O'Neill et al, 2015) in childhood and adolescence predicted higher future substance use.…”