Temporal analysis of individual ethanol consumption in socially housed mice and the effects of oxytocin

Caruso, Maya; Robins, Meridith T.; Fulenwider, Hannah D.; Ryabinin, Andrey E.

doi:10.1007/s00213-020-05741-3

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…Spillage and evaporation are automatically zeroed out to provide exact measurement of intake. Our lab has recently used this system to assess the effects of repeated oxytocin treatment on voluntary ethanol intake in group-housed male and female mice (Caruso et al, 2021). While a significant, attenuating effect of oxytocin treatment on ethanol intake was observed in this study, it was clear that mice housed socially in the HM2 system exhibited markedly lower levels of intake than those typically observed in mice housed individually in standard shoebox cages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…After 2 days of recovery from RFID implantation, mice were moved into HM2 cages (MBRose), measuring 48 x 37.5 x 21 cm and described in detail in (Caruso et al, 2021). Since these cages are larger than standard size, contain shredded paper and cotton nestlet materials, a plastic tube and two built-in fluid access channels, they comprise a moderately enriched environment.…”

Section: Hm2 Cagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social Housing Leads to Increased Ethanol Intake in Male Mice Housed in Environmentally Enriched Cages

Fulenwider

Robins

Caruso

et al. 2021

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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An individual's social environment affects alcohol intake. However, the complex interactions between social context and alcohol intake remain understudied in preclinical models. In the present study, we sought to characterize the effects of social housing on voluntary ethanol intake in male C567BL/6J mice using a continuous access two-bottle choice model. This was accomplished using HM2 cages, which allow for the continuous monitoring of individuals' fluid intake through radiofrequency tracking while they remain undisturbed in a group setting. These cages are moderately environmentally enriched compared to standard shoebox cages. By analyzing the levels of voluntary ethanol intake between socially- and individually-housed mice in HM2 cages, we were able to parse apart the effects of environmental enrichment vs. social enrichment. We found that while intake levels were overall lower than those observed when animals are singly housed in standard shoebox cages, socially-housed males consumed significantly more ethanol compared to individually-housed mice, suggesting that while environmental enrichment attenuates ethanol intake, social enrichment may, in fact, potentiate it. This effect was not specific for alcohol, however, in that ethanol preference did not differ as a product of social context. We also found that the total number of non-consummatory channel entries were consistently higher in individually-housed mice. Additionally, a single corticotropin releasing factor receptor 1 antagonist treatment significantly decreased both water and ethanol intake in socially- and individually-housed mice up to 3 h post-treatment, though the effect on water intake was longer lasting. This treatment also significantly decreased the number of non-consummatory channel entries in individually-housed mice, but not in socially-housed mice, suggesting that increased channel visits may be a stress-related behavior. Lastly, we examined blood ethanol concentrations and FosB immunoreactivity to characterize the physiological responses to ethanol intake in socially- and individually-housed mice. The number of FosB-positive cells in the centrally-projecting Edinger-Westphal nucleus and nucleus accumbens shell positively correlated with average baseline ethanol intake in individually-housed mice, but not in socially-housed mice. Overall, we found that social, but not environmental, enrichment can increase ethanol intake in male C57BL/6J mice. Future studies need to test this phenomenon in female mice and assess the generalizability of this finding.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Section: Hm2 Cagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Housing Leads to Increased Ethanol Intake in Male Mice Housed in Environmentally Enriched Cages

Fulenwider

Robins

Caruso

et al. 2021

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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“…We also found increases in hypothalamic OXT and OXTR gene expression in water‐exposed females drinking EtOH. To our best knowledge, a relationship between OXT gene expression and EtOH intake in females has not been investigated, although acute OXT has been shown to reduce EtOH intake in both sexes (Caruso et al, 2021; King & Becker, 2019; Peters et al, 2017). Furthermore, evidence suggests that OXTR knockout leads to increases in EtOH consumption (Rodriguez et al, 2020), suggesting that the observed activation of the OXT system was a compensatory mechanism of curbing EtOH intake that was relatively high in water‐exposed females.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of adolescent intermittent ethanol exposure in male and female rats on social drinking and neuropeptide gene expression

Towner

Papastrat

Spear

et al. 2022

Alcoholism Clin & Exp Res

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Background Alcohol use during adolescence can alter maturational changes that occur in brain regions associated with social and emotional responding. Our previous studies have shown that adult male, but not female rats demonstrate social anxiety‐like alterations and enhanced sensitivity to ethanol‐induced social facilitation following adolescent intermittent ethanol exposure (AIE). These consequences of AIE may influence adult social drinking in a sex‐specific manner. Methods To test the effects of AIE on social drinking, male and female Sprague‐Dawley rats exposed to water or ethanol (0 or 4 g/kg, intragastrically, every other day, between postnatal day [P] 25 and 45) were tested as adults (P72‐83) in a social drinking paradigm (30‐minute access to a 10% ethanol solution in supersac or supersac alone in groups of three same‐sex littermates across two 4‐day cycles separated by 4 days off). Social behavior was assessed during the last drinking session, along with assessment of oxytocin (OXT), oxytocin receptor (OXTR), vasopressin (AVP), and vasopressin receptors 1a and 1b (AVPR1a, AVPR1b) in the hypothalamus and lateral septum. Results Males exposed to AIE consumed more ethanol than water‐exposed controls during the second drinking cycle, whereas AIE did not affect supersac intake in males. AIE‐exposed females consumed less ethanol and more supersac than water‐exposed controls. Water‐exposed females drinking ethanol showed more social investigation and significantly higher hypothalamic OXTR, AVP, and AVPR1b gene expression than their counterparts ingesting supersac and AIE females drinking ethanol. In males, hypothalamic AVPR1b gene expression was affected by drinking solution, with significantly higher expression evident in males drinking ethanol than those consuming supersac. Conclusions Collectively, these findings provide new evidence regarding sex‐specific effects of AIE on social drinking and suggest that the hypothalamic OXT and AVP systems are implicated in the effects of ingested ethanol on social behavior in a sex‐ and adolescent‐exposure‐dependent manner.

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“…We also found increases in hypothalamic OXT and OXTR gene expression in waterexposed females drinking ethanol. To our best knowledge, a relationship between OXT gene expression and ethanol intake in females has not been investigated, although acute OXT has been shown to reduce ethanol intake in both sexes (Caruso, Robins, Fulenwider, & Ryabinin, 2021;King & Becker, 2019;Peters et al, 2017). Furthermore, evidence suggests that OXTR knockout leads to increases in ethanol consumption (Rodriguez, Smith, & Caldwell, 2020), suggesting that the observed activation of the OXT system was a compensatory mechanism of curbing ethanol intake that was relatively high in water-exposed females.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Adolescent Intermittent Ethanol Exposure in Male and Female Rats on Social Drinking and Neuropeptide Gene Expression

Towner

Papastrat

Spear

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundAlcohol use during adolescence can alter maturational changes that occur in brain regions associated with social and emotional responding. Our previous studies have shown that adult male, but not female rats demonstrate social anxiety-like alterations and enhanced sensitivity to ethanol-induced social facilitation following adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) exposure. These consequences of AIE may influence adult social drinking in a sex-specific manner.MethodsTo test effects of AIE on social drinking, male and female Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to water or ethanol [0 or 4 g/kg, intragastrically, every other day, between postnatal day (P) 25 and 45] were tested as adults (P72-83) in a social drinking paradigm (30-minute access to a 10% ethanol solution in supersac or supersac alone in groups of three same-sex littermates across two 4-day cycles separated by 4 days off). Social behavior was assessed during the last drinking session, with further assessment of oxytocin (OXT), oxytocin receptor (OXTR), vasopressin (AVP) and vasopressin receptors 1a and 1b (AVPR1a, AVPR1b) in the hypothalamus and lateral septum.ResultsMales exposed to AIE consumed more ethanol than water-exposed controls during the second drinking cycle, whereas AIE did not affect supersac intake in males. AIE-exposed females consumed less ethanol and more supersac than water-exposed controls. Water-exposed females drinking ethanol showed more social investigation as well as significantly higher hypothalamic OXTR, AVP, and AVPR1b gene expression than their counterparts ingesting supersac and AIE females drinking ethanol. In males, hypothalamic AVPR1b gene expression was affected by drinking solution, with significantly higher expression evident in males drinking ethanol than those consuming supersac.ConclusionsCollectively, these findings provide new evidence regarding sex-specific effects of AIE on social drinking and suggest that the hypothalamic OXT and AVP systems are implicated in the effects of ingested ethanol on social behavior in a sex- and adolescent exposure-dependent manner.

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Temporal analysis of individual ethanol consumption in socially housed mice and the effects of oxytocin

Cited by 16 publications

References 56 publications

Social Housing Leads to Increased Ethanol Intake in Male Mice Housed in Environmentally Enriched Cages

Social Housing Leads to Increased Ethanol Intake in Male Mice Housed in Environmentally Enriched Cages

Impact of adolescent intermittent ethanol exposure in male and female rats on social drinking and neuropeptide gene expression

Impact of Adolescent Intermittent Ethanol Exposure in Male and Female Rats on Social Drinking and Neuropeptide Gene Expression

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