Early life stress induces hyperactivity but not increased anxiety-like behavior or ethanol drinking in outbred heterogeneous stock rats.

ABSTRACT: Early life stress is known to impact vulnerability to psychopathological disorders in adulthood, including anxiety and alcohol use disorder (AUD), but the mechanisms underlying susceptibility to these outcomes are not fully understood. In the current study, we used adolescent social isolation (ASI) to determine whether Heterogeneous Stock (HS) rats, an outbred model used for genetic fine-mapping, could be used to study the genetics contributing to ASI-induced anxiety- and AUD-like behavior. We isolated (ASI) or group-housed (adolescent group-housed; AGH) 64 male HS rats at 4 weeks of age. After 5 weeks in these housing conditions, multiple anxiety and coping/despair-like behaviors were measured. All rats were then individually housed and assessed for voluntary ethanol self-administration.

SUBMITTER: Deal A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8767639 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature