Chronic caffeine decreases anxiety-like behavior in the marble burying task in adolescent rats

Exposure to chronic caffeine during adolescence has been shown to produce decreased anxiety-like behaviors in rats as well as decreased immobility in the forced swim test (FST) suggesting an antidepressant-like effect. The effects of chronic caffeine on anxiety, however, have been found to be test-dependent and sexually dimorphic. In addition, decreased immobility in the FST has been argued to reflect a shift toward active coping behavior as opposed to an antidepressant-like effect. In order to further characterize the effects of adolescent caffeine exposure, the present experiment assessed the effects of caffeine on marble burying behavior in a two-zone marble burying task. There was no difference in the amount of time rats spent in the two zones failing to support a shift in coping strategy. Caffeine-exposed rats spent less time engaged in marble burying activity and buried slightly fewer marbles, suggesting an anxiolytic effect of caffeine. In addition, caffeine treated rats spent less time engaged in nondirected burying and slightly more time actively engaging with the marbles; however, these effects appeared to be sexually dimorphic as they were driven by larger changes in the females. Overall, these results support an anxiolytic effect of adolescent caffeine, with female behavior appearing to be more affected by caffeine than males.