title: Alcohol consumption increases locomotion in an open field and induces Fos-immunoreactivity in reward and approach/withdrawal-related neurocircuitries.
abstract: Drug addiction is a chronically relapsing disorder characterized by compulsion to seek and take the drug, loss of control in limiting intake and, eventually, the emergence of a negative emotional state when access to the drug is prevented. Both dopamine and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-mediated systems seem to play important roles in the modulation of alcohol abuse and dependence. The present study investigated the effects of alcohol consumption on anxiety and locomotor parameters and on the activation of dopamine and CRF-innervated brain regions. Male Wistar rats were given a choice of two bottles for 31 days, one containing water and the other a solution of saccharin + alcohol. Control animals only received water and a solution of 0.2% saccharin. On the 31st day, animals were tested in the elevated plus-maze and open field, and euthanized immediately after the behavioral tests. An independent group of animals was treated with ethanol and used to measure blood ethanol concentration. Results showed that alcohol intake did not alter behavioral measurements in the plus-maze, but increased the number of crossings in the open field, an index of locomotor activity. Additionally, alcohol intake increased Fos-immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) in the prefrontal cortex, in the shell region of the nucleus accumbens, in the medial and central amygdala, in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, in the septal region, and in the paraventricular and dorsomedial hypothalamus, structures that have been linked to reward and to approach/withdrawal behavior. These observations might be relevant to a better understanding of the behavioral and physiological alterations that follow alcohol consumption.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, 11060-001 Santos, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wscieklica
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, 11060-001 Santos, Brazil.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Barros Viana
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, 11060-001 Santos, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Le Sueur Maluf
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, 11060-001 Santos, Brazil.
authors.forename: Kathlein Cristiny Peres
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Pouza
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, 11060-001 Santos, Brazil.
authors.forename: Regina Célia
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Spadari
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, 11060-001 Santos, Brazil. Electronic address: isabel.cespedes@unifesp.br.
authors.forename: Isabel Cristina
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Céspedes
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012201:Reward
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Alcohol consumption; Anxiety; CRF; Dopamine; Fos-immunoreactivity; Locomotor activity