Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2014 Jan;38(1):186-94. doi: 10.1111/acer.12255. Epub 2013 Aug 16.
Adolescents and adults vary in sensitivity to many effects of ethanol (EtOH), although it is unknown whether they also differ in their perception of EtOH's subjective cues. This study characterized EtOH discrimination in adolescent and adult male rats using a rapidly acquired Pavlovian conditioned approach procedure.
EtOH at 1 of the 3 training doses (0.75, 1.0, or 1.25 g/kg) served as either a positive (POS) or negative (NOS) occasion setter. Each 20-minute training session consisted of eight 15-second presentations of 2 cue lights located on either side of a dipper delivering chocolate Boost(®) . For POS-trained rats, the cue lights reliably predicted 5-second presentations of chocolate Boost during EtOH but not saline sessions, with the opposite contingencies used for NOS-trained rats. Anticipatory approach behavior (head entries into the reward delivery area) in the presence and absence of the cue lights was used to calculate discrimination scores on EtOH and saline sessions. Following acquisition, various doses of EtOH (0 to 1.5 g/kg) were administered to establish generalization curves.
Although animals of both ages responded differentially on EtOH and saline sessions by the end of acquisition, adults met criterion more quickly and had higher discrimination scores during reinforced sessions than adolescents. Whereas adolescents failed to demonstrate any dose-dependent responding during testing when trained with the 0.75 or 1.25 g/kg EtOH doses, adults demonstrated broader EtOH generalization during testing sessions following training with all 3 EtOH doses. Among adolescents trained with 1.0 g/kg EtOH, less generalization occurred relative to adults.
Adolescents were less sensitive to EtOH's interoceptive effects, indicating that EtOH is likely a more salient cue for adults than for adolescents. These findings contribute to evidence that suggests adolescent-typical insensitivity to internal cues that typically limit EtOH consumption may contribute to the elevated intake commonly reported during this developmental period.
尽管尚不清楚青少年和成年人在对乙醇（EtOH）的许多影响的敏感性方面是否存在差异，但他们对 EtOH 主观线索的感知是否也存在差异尚不清楚。本研究使用快速获得的条件性趋近程序来描述青少年和成年雄性大鼠对 EtOH 的辨别能力。
3 种训练剂量（0.75、1.0 或 1.25 g/kg）的 EtOH 中的 1 种用作正（POS）或负（NOS）场合设定者。每个 20 分钟的训练课程包括 8 个 15 秒的呈现，呈现两个位于提供巧克力 Boost（®）的勺子两侧的提示灯。对于 POS 训练的大鼠，提示灯可靠地预测在 EtOH 但不在盐水期间进行 5 秒的巧克力 Boost 呈现，而对于 NOS 训练的大鼠则使用相反的条件。在存在和不存在提示灯的情况下，预测性趋近行为（头部进入奖励传递区域）用于计算 EtOH 和盐水期间的辨别分数。获得后，给予各种剂量的 EtOH（0 至 1.5 g/kg）以建立概括曲线。
尽管两种年龄的动物在获得结束时对 EtOH 和盐水课程的反应不同，但成年人比青少年更快达到标准，并且在强化课程中的辨别分数更高。然而，当用 0.75 或 1.25 g/kg EtOH 剂量训练时，青少年在测试中没有表现出任何剂量依赖性反应，而在用所有 3 种 EtOH 剂量训练后，成年人在测试课程中表现出更广泛的 EtOH 概括。在接受 1.0 g/kg EtOH 训练的青少年中，相对于成年人，概括程度较低。
青少年对 EtOH 的内感受影响的敏感性较低，这表明 EtOH 对成年人来说比青少年更明显。这些发现有助于证明青少年对通常限制 EtOH 消耗的内部线索的不敏感可能导致在这一发育时期常见的摄入增加。
