Varenicline modulates ethanol and saccharin consumption in adolescent male and female C57BL/6J mice.

ABSTRACT: Adolescence is a critical period in brain development that coincides with the initiation of alcohol use. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) have been shown to modulate ethanol behaviors in adult humans and in animal models; however, the role of these receptors in adolescent ethanol behaviors has not been explored. Throughout adolescence, nAChR expression undergoes large-scale developmental changes which may alter behavioral responses to ethanol. Here we examined the effect of varenicline, a nAChR partial agonist, on ethanol consumption, ataxia, sedation, and metabolism in adolescent male and female C57BL/6J mice. The effect of varenicline on ethanol consumption was tested through the Drinking-in-the-Dark (DID) paradigm that models binge-like ethanol consumption. To ensure that resul

SUBMITTER: Kamens HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5794646 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature