Interactive effects of chronic stress and alcohol intake on behavioral, physiological, and neuronal components in male and female rats
Item
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Title
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Interactive effects of chronic stress and alcohol intake on behavioral, physiological, and neuronal components in male and female rats
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:9381c4c6a649:11545
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identifier
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12047
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Creator
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Gomez, Juan L.,
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Contributor
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Victoria Luine
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Date
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2012
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Neurosciences | Behavioral psychology | Alcohol | Anxiety | Depression | Memory | Sex Differences | Stress
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Abstract
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For many individuals, exposure to stress is frequently accompanied by increased substance use. However, studies on stress and alcohol consumption often only focus on anxiety and depression to assess the interaction between these two factors. Cognitive function has been implicated in acquisition of drug abuse and thus requires further investigation. In addition to anxiety and depression, the interactive effects of stress and alcohol were evaluated on memory function using the object placement, object recognition, and Y-maze tasks. Four experimental designs used male and female rats randomly assigned to one of 4-groups: No Stress / No Alcohol Control (CON), Alcohol alone (ALC), Stress alone (STR), or Stress plus Alcohol (STR+ALC). In Aim 1, we found that restraint stress increased voluntary alcohol consumption in males and that alcohol consumption after a stressor alleviated stress-induced memory impairments in the object placement task. To control for variability in voluntary drinking, Aim 2 administered alcohol via gastric gavage (2 g/kg). Males exposed to the combination treatment (STR+ALC) had intact working and spatial memory and reduced levels of anxiety on the elevated plus maze and depression in the forced swim task (Aim 2). In contrast, females showed impaired memory and increased depression following 7-days of alcohol intake after a stressor (Aim 3). Physiological measures from male rats exposed only to the 7-day treatment (Aim 4) were consistent with some of the behavioral findings. The STR+ALC group showed adaptation of the corticosterone response from day-1 to day-7 of stress, while the other groups showed consistent corticosteroid release. Additionally, neurotransmitter receptor expression of hippocampal GABA-alpha4 and GluN2B was upregulated for the ALC and STR+ALC groups on the last day of stress, but not 3-days after stress. Overall, the interactive effects of exposure to stress and alcohol were evident in behavior in a sexually dimorphic manner. These effects may explain the increased use of psychoactive substances during times of stress and may contribute to the development of dependence. The opposing results between males and females in response to alcohol intake after a stressor suggests a need for sex specific prevention and treatment methods for chronic stress and alcoholism.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
