title: Transient increase in alcohol self-administration following a period of chronic exposure to corticosterone.
abstract: Stressful life events and chronic stressors have been associated with escalations in alcohol drinking. Stress exposure leads to the secretion of glucocorticoids (cortisol in the human; corticosterone (CORT) in the rodent). To model a period of heightened elevations in CORT, the present work assessed the effects of chronic exposure to the stress hormone CORT on alcohol self-administration. Male Long Evans rats were trained to self-administer a sweetened alcohol solution (2% sucrose/15% alcohol) resulting in moderate levels of daily alcohol intake (0.5-0.7 g/kg). Following stable baseline operant self-administration, rats received CORT in the drinking water for 7 days. A transient increase in alcohol self-administration was observed on the first self-administration session following CORT exposure, and behavior returned to control levels by the second session. Control experiments determined that this increase in alcohol self-administration was specific to alcohol, unrelated to general motor activation, and functionally dissociated from decreased CORT levels at the time of testing. These results indicate that repeated exposure to heightened levels of stress hormone (e.g., as may be experienced during stressful episodes) has the potential to lead to exacerbated alcohol intake in low to moderate drinkers. Given that maladaptive drinking patterns, such as escalated alcohol drinking following stressful episodes, have the potential to put an individual at risk for future drinking disorders, utilization of this model will be important for examination of neuroadaptations that occur as a consequence of CORT exposure in order to better understand escalated drinking following stressful episodes in nondependent individuals.
authors: Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 2759, USA. jbesheer@med.unc.edu
authors: Joyce
authors: J
authors: Besheer
authors: Kristen R
authors: KR
authors: Fisher
authors: Tessa G
authors: TG
authors: Lindsay
authors: Reginald
authors: R
authors: Cannady
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001007:Anxiety / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy; D002090:Butyrophenones / Q000494:pharmacology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004327:Drinking Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012646:Self Administration; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D002090:Butyrophenones; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol; D013395:Sucrose; C008522:metylperon; D003345:Corticosterone
references: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2011 Nov;218(1):179-89
references: 21643675
references: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2013 Feb;225(3):569-77
references: 22983097
references: Neuroscience. 2007 Jun 8;146(4):1734-42
references: 17481824
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1993 Jun;17(3):696-702
references: 8333603
references: Int J Stress Manag. 2008 Nov 1;15(4):364-380
references: 19578556
references: Trends Pharmacol Sci. 1992 May;13(5):170-6
references: 1604709
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Mar 1;61(5):609-16
references: 16920076
references: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2010 May;35(6):1241-52
references: 20130533
references: Q J Stud Alcohol. 1967 Mar;28(1):132-7
references: 6030082
references: Addict Biol. 2012 Sep;17(5):920-33
references: 22741603
references: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2003 Jan;28(1):119-25
references: 12496947
references: Neurosci Lett. 2004 Nov 3;370(1):40-4
references: 15489014
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008 Feb;32(2):240-8
references: 18162074
references: Alcohol. 2011 Jun;45(4):355-64
references: 20880662
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Feb 15;63(4):353-9
references: 17889834
references: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2004 Oct;176(1):82-7
references: 15064919
references: Alcohol Alcohol. 2000 Mar-Apr;35(2):139-44
references: 10787388
references: Neuropsychobiology. 2005;52(2):90-110
references: 16037678
references: Alcohol. 2008 Feb;42(1):13-20
references: 18164577
references: Alcohol. 1993 Jan-Feb;10(1):1-10
references: 8095393
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1997 Aug;21(5):784-91
references: 9267526
references: Neuroscience. 2007 May 25;146(3):1302-15
references: 17428611
references: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2012 Apr;220(4):809-22
references: 22016195
references: Curr Protoc Neurosci. 2009 Oct;Chapter 9:Unit 9.32
references: 19802817
references: J Neurosci. 2012 May 30;32(22):7563-71
references: 22649234
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008 Feb;32(2):209-21
references: 18162077
references: Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 1999 Nov;7(4):318-23
references: 10609966
references: Alcohol. 1994 May-Jun;11(3):195-202
references: 8060519
references: Life Sci. 1987 Mar 30;40(13):1245-51
references: 3561150
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1997 Jun;21(4):656-60
references: 9194920
references: Q J Stud Alcohol. 1968 Dec;29(4):863-7
references: 5705408
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008 Nov;32(11):1976-83
references: 18782338
references: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1995 Dec;122(4):369-73
references: 8657835
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2009 Jan;33(1):31-42
references: 18945225
references: Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2012 Jul;159B(5):484-90
references: 22488930
references: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2011 Nov;218(1):131-56
references: 21850445
references: NIDA Res Monogr. 1996;163:277-99
references: 8809864
references: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1997 Apr;130(3):203-12
references: 9151353
references: J Stud Alcohol. 1995 Jan;56(1):67-73
references: 7752635
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1997 Aug;21(5):840-8
references: 9267533
references: Psychol Med. 2006 Jul;36(7):931-41
references: 16563205
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2003 Jul;27(7):1048-54
references: 12878910
references: Alcohol Alcohol. 2000 May-Jun;35(3):307-12
references: 10869253
references: Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 1988;12(5):653-71
references: 2851859
references: Soc Sci Med. 2011 Aug;73(4):615-622
references: 21782304
references: Physiol Behav. 2001 Jun;73(3):301-11
references: 11438355
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1996 Feb;20(1):110-21
references: 8651440
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2010 May 1;67(9):812-22
references: 19897175
references: Psychol Addict Behav. 2001 Dec;15(4):350-9
references: 11767268
references: Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2001 Jul;26(5):443-59
references: 11337130
references: J Neurophysiol. 2009 Jun;101(6):3192-8
references: 19357347
references: Addict Biol. 2013 Jan;18(1):54-65
references: 23126443
references: J Neurosci. 2004 Nov 24;24(47):10594-602
references: 15564575
references: PLoS One. 2008 Aug 06;3(8):e2846
references: 18682722
references: Alcohol. 2006 Apr;38(3):155-64
references: 16905441
references: Brain Res. 1998 Feb 16;784(1-2):256-75
references: 9518641
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Sep;31(9):1473-81
references: 17624999
references: Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2008 Nov;91(1):170-5
references: 18675292
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2001 Jan;25(1):25-33
references: 11198711
references: Endocrinology. 2010 May;151(5):2117-27
references: 20211972
references: Alcohol Alcohol. 2006 Jan-Feb;41(1):33-8
references: 16216823
references: Alcohol Alcohol. 2005 Sep-Oct;40(5):453-60
references: 15972275
references: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2012 Oct;36(9):2085-117
references: 22776763
references: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2008 Mar 1;93(3):217-26
references: 17980975
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1990 Dec;14(6):913-6
references: 2088129
references: Neurosci Lett. 2011 Apr 15;493(3):145-8
references: 21334417
references: Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1994 May;48(1):141-50
references: 7913224
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2005 Aug;29(8):1550-7
references: 16156052
references: Nature. 2012 Oct 18;490(7420):402-6
references: 22992525
references: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000 May;78(5):979-94
references: 10821203
references: Behav Brain Res. 2010 Aug 25;211(2):169-77
references: 20307586
references: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2002 Jun;26(6):729-36
references: 12007743
references: Life Sci. 1985 Aug 26;37(8):757-65
references: 4021738
references: Eur J Neurosci. 2008 Oct;28(8):1641-53
references: 18979677
references: Alcohol Alcohol. 2004 May-Jun;39(3):190-6
references: 15082455
references: J Chem Neuroanat. 2009 Dec;38(4):266-72
references: 19505571
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1999 Sep;23(9):1468-76
references: 10512312
references: Brain Res Bull. 2005 Dec 30;68(3):171-8
references: 16325017
references: Alcohol Alcohol. 2006 Jan-Feb;41(1):44-53
references: 16299106
references: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2003 Sep;28(9):1614-21
references: 12799615
references: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1998 Aug;22(5):1170-6
references: 9726292
references: J Consult Clin Psychol. 2000 Oct;68(5):788-98
references: 11068965
references: Trends Pharmacol Sci. 1998 Feb;19(2):67-74
references: 9550944
references: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2005 Apr;179(1):262-70
references: 15717208