title: Binge-pattern alcohol exposure during puberty induces long-term changes in HPA axis reactivity.
abstract: Adolescence is a dynamic and important period of brain development however, little is known about the long-term neurobiological consequences of alcohol consumption during puberty. Our previous studies showed that binge-pattern ethanol (EtOH) treatment during pubertal development negatively dysregulated the responsiveness of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, as manifested by alterations in corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), arginine vasopressin (AVP), and corticosterone (CORT) during this time period. Thus, the primary goal of this study was to determine whether these observed changes in important central regulators of the stress response were permanent or transient. In this study, juvenile male Wistar rats were treated with a binge-pattern EtOH treatment paradigm or saline alone for 8 days. The animals were left undisturbed until adulthood when they received a second round of treatments consisting of saline alone, a single dose of EtOH, or a second binge-pattern treatment paradigm. The results showed that pubertal binge-pattern EtOH exposure induced striking long-lasting alterations of many HPA axis parameters. Overall, our data provide strong evidence that binge-pattern EtOH exposure during pubertal maturation has long-term detrimental effects for the healthy development of the HPA axis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Magdalena M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Przybycien-Szymanska
authors.forename: Natasha N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Mott
authors.forename: Caitlin R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Roberta A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.forename: Toni R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Pak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000235:genetics; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D017931:DNA Primers; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; D008297:Male; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012741:Sexual Maturation
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D000431:Ethanol; D003345:Corticosterone