Naloxone and baclofen attenuate ethanol's locomotor-activating effects in preweanling Sprague-Dawley rats.

Arias, Carlos F.; Mlewski, Estela Cecilia; Molina, Juan Carlos; Spear, Norman E.

doi:10.1037/a0014049

Cited by 34 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…New findings indicate that opioid receptors seem to modulate ethanol-induced locomotor activation and ethanol intake during early ontogeny (Arias et al 2009(Arias et al , 2010. In conjunction with our previous results, this evidence allows us to hypothesize that neurochemical mechanisms involved in the rewarding effects of ethanol in preweanling rats are, at least in part, mediated by the opioid system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Naloxone attenuation of ethanol-reinforced operant responding in infant rats in a re-exposure paradigm

et al. 2011

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Self-administration of ethanol was established in terms of operant responding in preweanling rats with no previous exposure to the drug. Pairing of naloxone with ethanol, at a point separate in time from operant responding, reduced ethanol reinforcement. This indicated participation of the opioid system in ethanol reinforcement. This effect seems not to be unique to ethanol but also is observable when sucrose acts as reinforcer.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Naloxone attenuation of ethanol-reinforced operant responding in infant rats in a re-exposure paradigm

et al. 2011

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“…Notably, however, an alternative explanation for this pattern of performance is that baclofen directly enhanced learning of the second rule (left/right lever discrimination in Experiment 1 and visual cue discrimination in Experiment 2), rather than facilitating behavioral flexibility per se . Indeed, in rodents, baclofen is reported to enhance performance on delayed response and radial arm maze tasks, and to reverse methamphetamine-induced deficits in object recognition (Arias et al 2009; Escher and Mittleman 2004; Levin et al 2004). Experiment 3 addressed this possibility by evaluating the effects of baclofen on acquisition of the left/right and visual cue discrimination in rats that had not already learned a competing response rule (i.e., when task acquisition did not require a rule shift).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of acute administration of the GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen on behavioral flexibility in rats

2016

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RATIONALE The ability to adjust response strategies when faced with changes in the environment is critical for normal adaptive behavior. Such behavioral flexibility is compromised by experimental disruption of cortical GABAergic signaling, as well as in conditions such as schizophrenia and normal aging that are characterized by cortical hyperexcitability. The current studies were designed to determine whether stimulation of GABAergic signaling using the GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen can facilitate behavioral flexibility. METHODS Male Fischer 344 rats were trained in a set-shifting task in which they learned to discriminate between two response levers to obtain a food reward. Correct levers were signaled in accordance with two distinct response rules (Rule 1: correct lever signaled by a cue light; Rule 2: correct lever signaled by its left/right position). The order of rule presentation varied, but they were always presented sequentially, with the trials and errors to reach criterion performance on the second (set shift) rule providing the measure of behavioral flexibility. Experiments determined the effects of the GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen (i.p., 0, 1.0, 2.5 and 4.0 mg/kg) administered acutely before the shift to the second rule. RESULTS Baclofen enhanced set-shifting performance. Control experiments demonstrated that this enhancement was not simply due to improved discrimination learning, nor was it due to impaired recall of the initial discrimination rule. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate that baclofen can facilitate behavioral flexibility, suggesting that GABA(B) receptor agonists may have utility for treating behavioral dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders.

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“…It was, however, employed in this experiment to facilitate the comparison with previous studies. Specifically, 2.5 g/kg has been the standard dose for assessing motor activating effects of ethanol during the rising limb of the blood ethanol curve in preweanling (Arias et al, 2008, 2009, 2010a) and adolescent (Acevedo et al, 2010) rats. The temporal gap between removal of pups from the dam and testing was selected on the basis of previous studies (Pautassi et al, 2010; Arias et al, 2010b).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early maternal separation affects ethanol-induced conditioning in a nor-BNI insensitive manner, but does not alter ethanol-induced locomotor activity

Pautassi

Nizhnikov

Fabio

et al. 2012

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior

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Early environmental stress significantly affects the development of offspring. This stress has been modeled in rats through the maternal separation (MS) paradigm, which alters the functioning of the HPA axis and can enhance ethanol intake at adulthood. Infant rats are sensitive to ethanol’s reinforcing effects, which modulate ethanol seeking and intake. Little is known about the impact of MS on sensitivity to ethanol’s appetitive and aversive effects during infancy. The present study assessed ethanol-induced conditioned place preference established through second-order conditioning (SOC), spontaneous or ethanol-induced locomotor activity and ethanol intake in preweanling rats that experienced normal animal facility rearing (AFR) or daily episodes of maternal separation (MS) during postnatal days 1-13 (PDs 1-13). Low-ethanol dose (0.5 g/kg) induced appetitive conditioned place preference (via SOC) in control rats given conventional rearing but not in rats given maternal separation in early infancy, whereas 2.0 g/kg ethanol induced aversive conditioned place preference in the former but not the latter. The administration of a kappa antagonist at PD1 or immediately before testing did not alter ethanol-induced reinforcement. High (i.e., 2.5 and 2.0 g/kg) but not low (i.e., 0.5 g/kg) ethanol dose induced reliable motor stimulation, which was independent of early maternal separation. Ethanol intake and blood alcohol levels during conditioning were unaffected by rearing conditions. Pups given early maternal separation had lower body weights than controls and showed an altered pattern of exploration when placed in an open field. These results indicate that, when assessed in infant rats, earlier maternal separation alters the balance between the appetitive and aversive motivational effects of ethanol but has no effect on the motor activating effects of the drug.

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Naloxone and baclofen attenuate ethanol's locomotor-activating effects in preweanling Sprague-Dawley rats.

Cited by 34 publications

References 67 publications

Naloxone attenuation of ethanol-reinforced operant responding in infant rats in a re-exposure paradigm

Naloxone attenuation of ethanol-reinforced operant responding in infant rats in a re-exposure paradigm

Effects of acute administration of the GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen on behavioral flexibility in rats

Early maternal separation affects ethanol-induced conditioning in a nor-BNI insensitive manner, but does not alter ethanol-induced locomotor activity

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