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Assessing negative affect in mice during abstinence from alcohol drinking: Limitations and future challenges
Solal Bloch1, Katherine M Holleran2, Thomas L Kash3
1Department of Neuroscience, Charleston Alcohol Research Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, United States.
Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.)
|February 19, 2022
Summary
Chronic alcohol exposure in mice causes variable negative affective behaviors during withdrawal. Understanding this variability is crucial for developing better treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and co-occurring mood disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Alcohol use disorder (AUD) frequently co-occurs with mood disorders, exacerbating alcohol dependence and relapse.
- Chronic alcohol exposure in preclinical models induces anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors during withdrawal.
- Existing studies show variable outcomes in negative affective behaviors in mice exposed to alcohol.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and summarize the literature on the variability of negative affective behaviors in mice following chronic alcohol exposure.
- To compare behavioral phenotypes across different alcohol exposure models, including stress interactions.
- To highlight challenges in assessing negative affect in mouse models of AUD.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on chronic alcohol exposure and negative affective behaviors in mice.
- Comparison of behavioral outcomes across various alcohol exposure paradigms.
- Discussion of novel behavioral assays and data-driven approaches.
Main Results:
- Significant variability exists in negative affective behaviors observed in mice after chronic alcohol exposure.
- Different alcohol exposure models yield inconsistent behavioral phenotypes during abstinence.
- Assessing negative affect in mouse models of AUD presents considerable challenges.
Conclusions:
- New approaches, including advanced behavioral assays and machine learning, are needed to better understand alcohol's impact on negative affect in mice.
- Data-driven methods can improve the identification of neurobiological mechanisms underlying alcohol-associated negative affect.
- Enhanced understanding of these mechanisms will facilitate the development of improved treatments for AUD and comorbid mood disorders.
