Walker Rachel A, Andreansky Christopher, Ray Madelyn H, McDannald Michael A
Department of Psychology, Boston College.
Behav Neurosci. 2018 Jun;132(3):171-182. doi: 10.1037/bne0000239.
Childhood adversity is associated with exaggerated threat processing and earlier alcohol use initiation. Conclusive links remain elusive, as childhood adversity typically co-occurs with detrimental socioeconomic factors, and its impact is likely moderated by biological sex. To unravel the complex relationships among childhood adversity, sex, threat estimation, and alcohol use initiation, we exposed female and male Long-Evans rats to early adolescent adversity (EAA). In adulthood, >50 days following the last adverse experience, threat estimation was assessed using a novel fear discrimination procedure in which cues predict a unique probability of footshock: danger (p = 1.00), uncertainty (p = .25), and safety (p = .00). Alcohol use initiation was assessed using voluntary access to 20% ethanol, >90 days following the last adverse experience. During development, EAA slowed body weight gain in both females and males. In adulthood, EAA selectively inflated female threat estimation, exaggerating fear to uncertainty and safety, but promoted alcohol use initiation across sexes. Meaningful relationships between threat estimation and alcohol use initiation were not observed, underscoring the independent effects of EAA. Results isolate the contribution of EAA to adult threat estimation, alcohol use initiation, and reveal moderation by biological sex. (PsycINFO Database Record
童年逆境与过度的威胁处理和更早开始饮酒有关。确切的联系仍然难以捉摸，因为童年逆境通常与有害的社会经济因素同时出现，其影响可能因生物性别而有所不同。为了阐明童年逆境、性别、威胁评估和饮酒开始之间的复杂关系，我们将雌性和雄性Long-Evans大鼠暴露于青少年早期逆境（EAA）中。在成年期，即最后一次不良经历后50多天，使用一种新颖的恐惧辨别程序评估威胁评估，其中线索预测独特的足部电击概率：危险（p = 1.00）、不确定（p = 0.25）和安全（p = 0.00）。在最后一次不良经历后90多天，通过自愿获取20%乙醇来评估饮酒开始情况。在发育过程中，EAA减缓了雌性和雄性大鼠的体重增加。在成年期，EAA选择性地夸大了雌性的威胁评估，加剧了对不确定和安全的恐惧，但促进了两性的饮酒开始。未观察到威胁评估与饮酒开始之间有意义的关系，这突出了EAA的独立影响。结果分离了EAA对成年期威胁评估、饮酒开始的贡献，并揭示了生物性别的调节作用。（PsycINFO数据库记录）
