No abstract

Substance abuse typically begins in adolescence; therefore, the impact of alcohol during this critical time in brain development is of particular importance. Epidemiological data indicate that excessive alcohol consumption is prevalent among adolescents and may have lasting neurobehavioral consequences. Loss of cholinergic input to the forebrain has been demonstrated following fetal alcohol exposure and in adults with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. In the present study, immunohistochemistry for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) was determined to assess forebrain cholinergic neurons (Ch1–4), and behavioral changes following periadolescent alcohol exposure. Wistar rats were exposed to intermittent ethanol vapor (14 hrs on/10 hrs off/day) for 35 days from PD 22-PD 57 (average blood alcohol concentration (BAC): 163 mg%). Rats were withdrawn from vapor and assessed for locomotor activity, startle response, conflict behavior in the open field, and immobility in the forced swim test, as adults. Rats were then sacrificed at day 71/72 and perfused for histochemical analyses. Ethanol vapor exposed rats displayed: increased locomotor activity 8 hrs after the termination of vapor delivery for that 24 hr period at day 10 and day 20 of alcohol vapor exposure, significant reductions in the amplitude of their responses to prepulse stimuli during the startle paradigm at 24 hrs withdrawal, and at two weeks following withdrawal, less anxiety-like and/or more “disinhibitory” behavior in the open field conflict, and more immobility in the forced swim test. Quantitative analyses of ChAT immunoreactivity revealed a significant reduction in cell counts in the Ch1–2 and Ch3–4 regions of the basal forebrain in ethanol vapor exposed rats. This reduction in cell counts was significantly correlated with less anxiety-like and/or more “disinhibitory” behavior in the open field conflict test. These studies demonstrate that behavioral measures of arousal, affective state, disinhibitory behavior and ChAT+IR, are all significantly impacted by periadolescent ethanol exposure and withdrawal in Wistar rats.

Excessive alcohol consumption is prevalent among adolescents and may result in lasting neurobehavioral consequences. The use of animal models to study adolescent alcohol exposure has the advantage of allowing for the control necessary in order to evaluate the effects of ethanol on the brain and separate such effects from genetic background and other environmental insults. In the present study the effects of moderate ethanol vapor exposure, during adolescence, on measures of neurogenesis and behavioral measures were evaluated at two different times following ethanol withdrawal, in adulthood. The two groups of Wistar rats were both exposed to intermittent ethanol vapor (14 hrs on/10 hrs off/day) for 35–36 days from PD 23-PD 58 (average blood ethanol concentration (BEC): 163 mg%). In the first group, after rats were withdrawal from vapor they were subsequently assessed for locomotor activity, conflict behavior in the open field, and behaviors in the forced swim test and then sacrificed at 72 days of age. The second group of rats were withdrawn from vapor and injected for 5 days with Bromo-deoxy-Uridine (BrdU). Over the next 8 weeks they were also assessed for locomotor activity, conflict behavior in the open field, and behaviors in the forced swim test and then sacrificed at 113/114 days of age. All rats were perfused for histochemical analyses. Ethanol vapor exposed rats displayed hypoactivity in tests of locomotion and less anxiety-like and/or more “disinhibitory” behavior in the open field conflict. Quantitative analyses of immunoreactivity revealed a significant reduction in measures of neurogenesis, progenitor proliferation, as indexed by doublecortin (DCX), Ki67, and increased markers of cell death as indexed by cleaved caspase-3, and Fluoro-Jade at 72 days, and decreases in doublecortin (DCX), and increases in cleaved caspase-3 at 114 days in the ethanol vapor exposed rats. Progenitor survival, as assessed by BrdU+, was reduced in the vapor exposed animals that were sacrificed at 114 days. The reduction seen in DCX labeled in cell counts was significantly correlated with hypoactivity at 24 hours after withdrawal as well as less anxiety-like and/or more “disinhibitory” behavior in the open field conflict test at 2 and 8 weeks following termination of vapor exposure. These studies demonstrate that behavioral measures of disinhibitory behavior correlated with decreases in neurogenesis are all significantly and persistently impacted by periadolescent ethanol exposure and withdrawal in Wistar rats.

These findings support the role of fatty acid amides as possible modulators of sleep and indicate that the homeostatic mechanisms of sleep in FAAH (-/-) mice are not disrupted.

Study Objectives: Epidemiological studies have found that insufficient sleep (< 7 h/night) is more common among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN). In this study we sought to identify specific demographic, clinical, and cultural factors that may be associated with reduced sleep quality in an American Indian community sample. Methods: Information on demography along with personal medical, psychiatric, and drinking history was obtained using the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA). Sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results:The adult participants (n = 386, 54% women) had a mean ± standard deviation age of 31.35 ± 14.4 y. Higher degrees of AI ancestry, but not cultural identification, being older than 30 y, and having a high school diploma all were factors predictive of having a short sleep duration (< 6 h). The global score on the PSQI was significantly higher in those participants with a lifetime diagnosis of substance use disorders, anxiety disorders, and affective disorders. Alcohol use disorders and affective disorders were significant predictors of sleep latency whereas anxiety and affective disorders were correlated with waking more often in the night/early morning. Nicotine dependence was associated with having trouble breathing, and alcohol use disorders and anxiety disorders with bad dreams. Conclusions: Alcohol use disorders are associated with poorer quality of sleep in this population and substance use disorders were associated with different aspects of sleep than anxiety and depressive disorders. These findings add to the understanding of the interactions between sleep and substance use, anxiety, and affective disorders in an understudied and underserved population. Keywords: alcohol dependence, American Indians, anxiety disorders, BMI, drug dependence, major depressive disorders, PSQI, sleep Citation: Ehlers CL, Wills DN, Lau P, Gilder DA. Sleep quality in an adult American Indian community sample. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017;13(3):385-391. I NTRO DUCTI O NOver the past decade there has been a growing body of literature that has explored the potential overlap between health disparities research and sleep medicine.1 A number of epidemiological studies have reported poorer quality sleep and a higher prevalence of short and/or long sleep in non-White adults, particularly from lower socioeconomic status groups, in comparison with White adults. [2][3][4][5] This research has provided crucial information on disparities in such factors as selfreported sleep duration, daytime sleepiness, and symptoms of sleep disordered breathing across ethnic groups, geographical location, and socioeconomic status. However, the underlying racial/ethnic specific factors that may lead to these disparities in sleep health are less well understood.6 It has been suggested that studies using a multilevel approach that includes examination of factors such as level of acculturation, comorbid medical and psychiatric conditions, neighborhood conditions, and cultural ...

BACKGROUND Epidemiological studies suggest that excessive alcohol consumption is prevalent among adolescents and may have lasting neurobehavioral consequences. The use of animal models allows for the separation of the effects of adolescent ethanol exposure from genetic background and other environmental insults. In the present study the effects of moderate ethanol vapor exposure, during adolescence, on structural diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and behavioral measures were evaluated in adulthood. METHODS A total of 53 Wistar rats were received at postnatal day (PD) 21, and were randomly assigned to ethanol vapor (14 hrs on/10 hrs off/day) or air exposure for 35 days from PD 23-PD 58 (average blood ethanol concentration (BEC): 169 mg%). Animals were received in two groups that were subsequently sacrificed at two time points following withdrawal from ethanol vapor: (1) at 72 days of age, 2 weeks following withdrawal or (2) at day 128, 10 weeks following withdrawal. In the second group, behavior in the light/dark box and prepulse inhibition of the startle (PPI) were also evaluated. Fifteen animals in each group were scanned, post mortem, for structural DTI. RESULTS There were no significant differences in body weight between ethanol and control animals. Volumetric data, demonstrated that total brain, hippocampal, corpus callosum but not ventricular volume was significantly larger in the 128 day sacrificed animals as compared to the 72 day animals. The hippocampus was smaller and the ventricles larger at 128 days as compared to 72 days, in the ethanol exposed animals, leading to a significant group × time effect. Ethanol exposed animals sacrificed at 128 days also had diminished PPI and more rears in the light box that were significantly correlated with hippocampal size. CONCLUSIONS These studies demonstrate that DTI volumetric measures of hippocampus are significantly impacted by age and periadolescent ethanol exposure and withdrawal in Wistar rats.

Epidemiological studies suggest that binge drinking is prevalent among adolescents, and may result in neurobehavioral consequences. Animal models provide the experimental control to investigate the consequences of “binge” alcohol exposure during this neurodevelopmental epoch. The current study used an animal model that combined an intermittent pattern of alcohol vapor exposure with voluntary drinking of 20% unsweetened alcohol in adolescent male and female Wistar rats (P22-62), in order to test for potential differences in: behavioral changes, ethanol drinking, and hypocretin/orexin (Hcrt/OX) signaling associated with exposure status. Two weeks after discontinuation of the alcohol vapor exposure and drinking during adolescence, rats were tested in adulthood for anxiety-like behaviors using a modified open field conflict task, pre-pulse facilitation of startle response, Light/Dark box, and marble burying test. Adolescent alcohol exposure led to overall decreased startle response and increased behavioral arousal in the Light/Dark chamber during adulthood. Additionally, male rats demonstrated more disinhibited behavior during the conflict task compared to females, and female rats exhibited more rearing behavior during the Light/Dark test. Rats were also given a two-bottle choice test that resulted in adolescent alcohol exposed rats drinking significantly more alcohol in adulthood. Further, female rats also consumed more alcohol in adulthood compared to males. Estrous cycle phase did not account for any of the sex differences observed in the behavioral measures. Histological results indicated that adolescent alcohol did not alter Hcrt/OX-1 or Hcrt/OX-2 receptor mRNA expression levels in adult rats compared to control adults. However, female rats expressed a higher level of Hcrt/OX-1 and Hcrt/OX-2 receptor mRNA in the frontal cortex compared to males. These data suggest that our current model of intermittent ethanol exposure in adolescence can modestly impact both behavior and future consumption of alcohol and that Hcrt/OX receptor signaling differs between males and females.

Although adolescent ethanol (EtOH) exposure has been associated with long-lasting changes in brain function, little is known as to whether EtOH exposure during adolescence alters sleep and cortical arousal. This study examined protracted alterations in sleep in adult rats exposed to EtOH during adolescence. Adolescent male Wistar rats were exposed to EtOH vapor for 12 hr/day for five weeks. Cortical electroencephalograms (EEGs) were obtained during 4-hr recording sessions after five weeks of withdrawal from EtOH. Adolescent EtOH exposure significantly reduced the mean duration of slow-wave sleep (SWS) episodes and the total amount of time spent in SWS in EtOH-exposed rats, compared to controls. Spectral analysis revealed that adolescent EtOH exposure significantly increased cortical peak frequencies during SWS in the 2-4 Hz, 4-6 Hz and 6-8 Hz bands. Taken together, our findings suggest that chronic EtOH exposure in adolescent rats reduces measures of SWS, an effect also seen as part of normal aging. Although the cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating the consequences of EtOH exposure on the aging process are not known, the similarities between adolescent EtOH exposure and aging merits further investigation.