SOCIAL LEARNING AND ALCOHOL INTAKE IN ADOLESCENT RATS

年轻人开始饮酒的年龄是 据报道，这一数字正在下降。最近的调查表明，超过10%的13- 1岁的孩子饮酒，约70%的高中生饮酒更多 而不是一个月一次。在这些人中，近三分之一的人报告狂欢 每周饮酒(定义为每次饮酒超过5杯) 基础。鉴于这些惊人的统计数据，我们缺乏理解 关于青少年饮酒的根本原因也令人惊讶 令人不安。关于这一主题的最大数量的数据来自研究 使用具有明确遗传决定因素的选择性繁殖的啮齿动物品系 酗酒。然而，人们也认识到，仅靠遗传学是不能 说明酗酒盛行的原因。经验因素也必须 单独行动，或与遗传倾向协同行动。由于早早的原因 开始饮酒的年龄模式，很可能会经历 在生命早期饮酒有助于后来接受这一点 毒品。 拟议的研究计划的长期目标是了解更多 完全的机制，行为和神经化学，通过它，社会 乙醇偏好的中介增加是通过断奶前和 青春期大鼠。这项研究最近将建立在一个范例上 由PI开发用于快速诱导断奶前仔猪对乙醇的偏好 和青春期的老鼠。简单地说，一只动物(示威者)是 在30分钟前灌胃注射一定剂量的乙醇 与实验对象(观察者)的行为互动。在……里面 我们已经进行的几个实验表明，观察者随后增加了他们的 酒精摄入量比对照水平高出75%-150%。我们的工作假说 观察者在呼吸中检测到酒精的呼吸信号 在大鼠内源性碳基成分存在的情况下演示 呼吸(二硫化碳)，二硫化碳促进释放 内源性阿片类药物，在功能上起到强化剂的作用 乙醇偏好的条件性。为了检验这一假设，我们将 研究内源性阿片类药物在促进乙醇增加中的作用 主要通过药物调控Mu和kappa的摄取模式 阿片受体。这项工作的最终结果将是增加 对社交网络背后的神经化学和行为因素的理解 获得乙醇偏好。

The age at which alcohol consumption by young adults begins is reported to be ever decreasing. Recent surveys indicate that over 10% of 13- year olds use alcohol and about 70% of high schoolers consume alcohol more than once per month. Of these individuals, nearly one-third report binge drinking (defined as consuming more than 5 drinks per occasion) on a weekly basis. In light of these astonishing statistics, our lack of understanding about the underlying causes of adolescent-onset drinking is surprising as well as disturbing. The largest amount of data on this topic has come from studies using selectively bred strains of rodents showing a clear genetic determinant of alcoholism. However, it is also recognized that genetics alone cannot account for the prevalence of alcohol abuse. Experiential factors must also act, either alone or in concert with genetic predisposition. Due to the early age of onset of alcohol consumption patterns, it is likely that experiences with alcohol occurring early in life contribute to later acceptance of this drug. The long-term objective of the proposed research plan is to understand more fully the mechanisms, behavioral and neurochemical, through which socially mediated increases in ethanol preferences are acquired by preweanling and periadolescent rats. The research will build upon a paradigm recently developed by the PI for rapidly inducing ethanol preferences in preweanling and periadolescent rats. Briefly, one animal (demonstrator) is intragastrically administered a dose of ethanol shortly before a 30-min period of behavioral interaction with the experimental subject (observer). In several experiments we have shown that observers subsequently increase their ethanol intake by up to 75-150% over control levels. Our working hypothesis is that observers detect respired ethanol cues on the breath of the demonstrator in the presence of an endogenous carbon based constituent of rat breath (carbon disulfide), and carbon disulfide promotes the release of endogenous opioids that serve functionally as the reinforcer for the conditioning of preferences for ethanol. To test this hypothesis, we will examine the role of endogenous opioids in promoting the increased ethanol intake patterns through pharmacologically manipulating primarily mu and kappa opioid receptors. The end result of this work will be an increased understanding of the neurochemical and behavioral factors underlying social acquisition of ethanol preferences.