Chronic alcohol consumption from adolescence-to-adulthood in mice--effect on growth and social behavior

Drug Alcohol Depend. 2009 Sep 1;104(1-2):119-25. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.04.021. Epub 2009 Jun 27.

Abstract

Experimentation with alcohol is common during adolescence. However the long-term consequences from moderate alcohol use during adolescence development are not clear. Using a two-bottle free-choice paradigm in the home-cage setting, we studied adolescent mice (4 weeks old) across a 6-week time span of the adolescence-to-adulthood development period. Adolescent mice readily reached a steady level of alcohol consumption and maintained this level throughout the 6-week period. Chronic alcohol consumption resulted in reduced growth in adolescent mice, as well as accelerated acclimation to a novel environment. During a social interaction test, similar levels of initial social investigation and subsequent habituation were observed in both the chronic alcohol and the water-only control groups. However, chronic alcohol self-administration resulted in impaired social recognition and decreased social play/fight behavior. Taken together, these results indicated that chronic alcohol consumption across adolescence development negatively impacted both physical growth and social behavior in mice, highlighting the detrimental consequences from prolonged alcohol drinking in adolescence.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Aggression / drug effects
  • Aging / psychology*
  • Alcohol Drinking / psychology*
  • Animals
  • Choice Behavior
  • Growth / drug effects
  • Growth / physiology*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Motor Activity / drug effects
  • Recognition, Psychology / drug effects
  • Social Behavior*