Effects of adolescent ethanol exposure on ethanol consumption in adult rats

Time Course of Elevated Ethanol Intake in Adolescent Relative to Adult Rats Under Continuous, Voluntary‐Access Conditions

“…Moreover, these findings of equivalent intake regardless of initiation age are consistent with work showing that early forced exposure to 10% ethanol for 3 to 10 days during adolescence in rats did not enhance ethanol's reinforcing properties (as indexed by operant self-administration) in adulthood (Tolliver and Samson, 1991). Forced exposure to ethanol vapors in adolescent SpragueDawley rats also did not enhance ethanol drinking in adult animals (Slawecki and Betancourt, 2002). However, the results of the present study contrast with studies conducted in C57BL/6J mice where postweaning 2-bottle choice exposure slightly increased ethanol consumption and preference in adulthood (Blizard et al, 2004;Ho et al, 1989), as well as with reports that rats bred for high levels of alcohol consumption (HAD rats) given chronic access to ethanol beginning during adolescence exhibited greater consumption levels than HAD rats not given this access as adolescents (Bell et al, 2004).…”

“…High-alcohol-drinking rats (HAD) given 2-bottle choice access to ethanol solutions and water throughout adolescence and early adulthood (P30-60) also showed increased consumption (g/kg/d) and preference for ethanol over time (Bell et al, 2004). However, forced administration via ethanol vapor or forced consumption during adolescence did not result in increased intake in adult Sprague-Dawley rats (Slawecki and Betancourt, 2002;Tolliver and Samson, 1991). Most of these studies exposing animals to ethanol during adolescence assessed ethanol-drinking behavior in adulthood after a period of abstinence in postadolescence or early adulthood and did not include an adult comparison group or, alternatively, were conducted in animals bred to prefer alcohol.…”

Voluntary Ethanol Consumption Differs in Adolescent and Adult Male Rats Using a Modified Sucrose‐Fading Paradigm

“…Forced consumption during adolescence appears to have no effect on subsequent EtOH intake in adulthood (Slawecki and Betancourt, 2002;Tolliver and Samson, 1991). Voluntary consumption during adolescence was not shown to enhance voluntary EtOH intake in adulthood (Vetter et al, 2007).…”

Reinforcing Properties and Neurochemical Response of Ethanol within the Posterior Ventral Tegmental Area Are Enhanced in Adulthood by Periadolescent Ethanol Consumption

“…However, like every aspect of alcohol studies, the manner, amount, and duration of EtOH exposure are likely to affect the observed consequences of EtOH consumption. Nonphysiologically relevant levels of alcohol consumption (i.e., EtOH intake levels that would produce no significant blood EtOH concentration) during adolescence have been shown to have no effect on adult EtOH consumption (Slawecki and Betancourt, 2002;Slawecki, 2002;Slawecki et al, 2004;Siegmund et al, 2005). Significant consumption of sweetened EtOH in Sprague-Dawley adolescent rats increases adult consumption of sweetened EtOH but not unadulterated high EtOH concentration solutions (20%) (Broadwater et al, 2013).…”