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Developmental differences in ethanol-induced sensitization using postweanling, adolescent, and adult Swiss mice
Caroline Quoilin1, Vincent Didone, Ezio Tirelli
1Centre de Neurosciences Cognitives et Comportementales, Université de Liège, Boulevard du Rectorat 5/B32, Liège, Belgium.
Rationale:
The maturing adolescent brain has been suggested to be more sensitive than the adult brain to ethanol-induced neuroadaptations. In animal studies, sensitization to the stimulant effects of ethanol is used to study the vulnerability to chronic ethanol-induced neurobehavioral alterations.
Objectives:
The aim of the present study was to systematically characterize age-dependent changes in the development and expression of the sensitization to the stimulant effects of a range of ethanol doses in female Swiss mice. Three ages were studied: 21-day-old mice (postweanlings), 35-day-old mice (adolescents), and 63-day-old mice (adults).
Methods:
Postweanling, adolescent, and adult mice were daily injected with saline or various ethanol doses (1.5 to 4 g/kg) for 7 days. They were then tested for acute and sensitized locomotor activity.
Results:
Postweanling and adolescent mice were more sensitive than adult mice to the acute stimulant effects of ethanol. In adult mice, daily injections of ethanol at doses between 2.5 and 4 g/kg led to significant sensitization. Higher ethanol doses (3.5 and 4 g/kg) were required to induce sensitization in postweanling and adolescent mice. However, younger mice showed ethanol sensitization of higher magnitude.
Conclusions:
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.
