Consequences of Adolescent Ethanol Consumption on Risk Preference and Orbitofrontal Cortex Encoding of Reward.

ABSTRACT: Critical development of the prefrontal cortex occurs during adolescence, a period of increased independence marked by decision making that often includes engagement in risky behaviors, such as substance use. Consumption of alcohol during adolescence has been associated with increased impulsivity that persists across the lifespan, an effect which may be caused by long-term disruptions in cortical processing of rewards. To determine if alcohol consumption alters cortical encoding of rewards of different sizes and probabilities, we gave rats limited access to alcohol in gelatin during adolescence only. In adulthood, we recorded the electrophysiological activity of individual neurons of the orbitofrontal cortex while rats performed a risk task that varied the level of risk from day-to-day. Rat

SUBMITTER: McMurray MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4793121 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature