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

Publication year: 2009
Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 27 June 2009
Hong, Zou , Qinglian, Xie , Manfang, Zhang , Chenghao, Zhang , Guoping, Zhao , …

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…