The University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 2409 University Avenue, Stop A1915, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, The University of Texas at Austin, 2500 Speedway, Stop A4800, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, 4209 State Route 44, RGE, Rootstown, OH 44272, USA.
Behav Brain Res. 2020 Mar 2;381:112456. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112456. Epub 2019 Dec 28.
Excessive alcohol (ethanol) consumption negatively impacts social, emotional, as well as cognitive function and well-being. Thus, identifying behavioral and/or biological predictors of excessive ethanol consumption is important for developing prevention and treatment strategies against alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Sex differences in alcohol consumption patterns are observed in humans, primates, and rodents. Selectively bred high alcohol-drinking rat lines, such as the "HAD-1" lines are recognized animal models of alcoholism. The present work examined sex differences in alcohol consumption, object recognition, and exploratory behavior in male and female HAD-1 rats. Naïve male and female HAD-1 rats were tested in an object recognition test (ORT) prior to a chronic 24 h intermittent ethanol access procedure for five weeks. Object recognition parameters measured included exploratory behavior, object investigation, and time spent near objects. During the initial training trial, rearing, active object investigation and amount of time spent in the object-containing section was significantly greater in female HAD-1 rats compared to their male counterparts. During the subsequent testing trial, time spent in the object-containing section was greater in female, compared to male, rats; but active object investigation and rearing did not statistically differ between females and males. In addition, female HAD-1 rats consumed significantly more ethanol than their male counterparts, replicating previous findings. Moreover, across all animals there was a significant positive correlation between exploratory behavior in ORT and ethanol consumption level. These results indicate there are significant sex differences in cognitive performance and alcohol consumption in HAD-1 rats, which suggests neurobiological differences as well.
过量饮酒（乙醇）会对社交、情感以及认知功能和幸福感产生负面影响。因此，确定过量饮酒的行为和/或生物学预测因子对于开发预防和治疗酒精使用障碍（AUD）的策略非常重要。人类、灵长类动物和啮齿动物中都观察到饮酒模式存在性别差异。高酒精摄入选择性繁殖大鼠品系，如“ HAD-1”品系，被认为是酒精中毒的动物模型。本研究在雄性和雌性 HAD-1大鼠中检查了饮酒、物体识别和探索行为的性别差异。在进行为期五周的慢性 24 小时间歇性乙醇摄入程序之前，对雄性和雌性 HAD-1 大鼠进行了物体识别测试（ORT）。测量的物体识别参数包括探索行为、物体探索和靠近物体的时间。在最初的训练试验中，与雄性相比，雌性 HAD-1 大鼠的后肢站立、主动物体探索和在物体包含部分的时间明显更长。在随后的测试试验中，雌性大鼠在物体包含部分的时间明显长于雄性大鼠，但雌性和雄性大鼠的主动物体探索和后肢站立没有统计学差异。此外，雌性 HAD-1 大鼠的乙醇摄入量明显多于雄性大鼠，这与之前的发现相吻合。此外，在所有动物中，ORT 中的探索行为与乙醇消耗水平之间存在显著的正相关。这些结果表明 HAD-1 大鼠在认知表现和饮酒方面存在显著的性别差异，这表明存在神经生物学差异。
