Anxiety and risk-taking behavior maps onto opioid and alcohol polysubstance consumption patterns in male and female mice.

ABSTRACT: Polysubstance use is prevalent in the population but remains understudied in preclinical models. Alcohol and opioid polysubstance use is associated with negative outcomes, worse treatment prognosis, and higher overdose risk; but underlying mechanisms are still being uncovered. Examining factors that motivate use of one substance over another in different contexts in preclinical models will better our understanding of polysubstance use and improve translational value. Here we assessed baseline anxiety-like and locomotive behavior and then measured voluntary consumption of multiple doses of alcohol and fentanyl in group housed male and female mice using our novel Socially Integrated Polysubstance (SIP) system. Fifty-six male (n=32) and female (n=24) adult mice were housed in groups of 4 for

SUBMITTER: Patarino M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11370560 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature