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. 2013 Oct 17;8(10):e77768.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077768. eCollection 2013.

Effects of acute or chronic ethanol exposure during adolescence on behavioral inhibition and efficiency in a modified water maze task

Shawn K Acheson  1 , Craig Bearison, M Louise Risher, Sabri H Abdelwahab, Wilkie A Wilson, H Scott Swartzwelder
Affiliations

Effects of acute or chronic ethanol exposure during adolescence on behavioral inhibition and efficiency in a modified water maze task

Shawn K Acheson et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Ethanol is well known to adversely affect frontal executive functioning, which continues to develop throughout adolescence and into young adulthood. This is also a developmental window in which ethanol is misused by a significant number of adolescents. We examined the effects of acute and chronic ethanol exposure during adolescence on behavioral inhibition and efficiency using a modified water maze task. During acquisition, rats were trained to find a stable visible platform onto which they could escape. During the test phase, the stable platform was converted to a visible floating platform (providing no escape) and a new hidden platform was added in the opposite quadrant. The hidden platform was the only means of escape during the test phase. In experiment 1, adolescent animals received ethanol (1.0 g/kg) 30 min before each session during the test phase. In experiment 2, adolescent animals received chronic intermittent ethanol (5.0 g/kg) for 16 days (PND30 To PND46) prior to any training in the maze. At PND72, training was initiated in the same modified water maze task. Results from experiment 1 indicated that acute ethanol promoted behavioral disinhibition and inefficiency. Experiment 2 showed that chronic intermittent ethanol during adolescence appeared to have no lasting effect on behavioral disinhibition or new spatial learning during adulthood. However, chronic ethanol did promote behavioral inefficiency. In summary, results indicate that ethanol-induced promotion of perseverative behavior may contribute to the many adverse behavioral sequelae of alcohol intoxication in adolescents and young adults. Moreover, the long-term effect of adolescent chronic ethanol exposure on behavioral efficiency is similar to that observed after chronic exposure in humans.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Timeline of events and synoptic diagram (experiments 1 and 2).
Panel A depicts the postnatal day (PND) on which events and activities occurred. Panel B provides a schematic diagram of experimental apparatus during initial acquisition (IAP) and test phases (TP). During each phase, animals began each trial from one of the intermediate locations marked by the arrows. IAP: animals were trained to escape to a visible stable platform (NW quadrant). TP: visible stable platform replaced by a visible unstable platform (NW quadrant) and a new hidden platform was added (SE quadrant); animals were trained to inhibit escape to the visible unstable stable platform (NW quadrant) and locate the hidden stable platform.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Escape latency (seconds +/- SEM), experiment 1.
Acute ethanol (1.0g/kg; solid squares) or saline (open squares) was administered 30 minutes prior to each training session during the test phase. A) Non-spatial learning was significant across daily sessions (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b…, p<0.001); no significant difference on baseline non-spatial learning between groups that would receive ethanol during test phase (p=0.07). B) Controlling for perseveration, spatial learning of the new hidden platform declined significantly across perseveration days (pDay1, pDay2…; p<0.001); learning across days did not differ between groups (p=0.95); groups did not differ in cumulative performance (p=0.17).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Measures of disinhibition during the test phase by day (pDay1, pDay2…; acute ethanol: solid squares; saline: open squares).
Ethanol treated animals spent more time (A; p=0.047) and made more attempts (B; p=0.03) trying to mount the floating platform than saline treated animals. C) The proportion of animals that failed to extinguish the pre-potent response declined in the saline group (p=0.04) but not in the ethanol group (p=0.54).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Measures of inefficiency during the test phase (acute ethanol: gray bars; saline: open bars).
Ethanol treated animals swam longer (A) and farther (B) before reaching the floating platform on those days on which they swam to the floating platform. * p<0.05.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Escape latency (seconds +/- SEM), experiment 2.
Chronic adolescent ethanol exposure (5.0g/kg; solid squares) or saline (open squares) was administered between PND30-PND45 followed by washout (PND46-PND71). A) Non-spatial learning was significant across daily sessions (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b…p<0.001); no significant difference on baseline non-spatial learning between groups (p=0.97). B) Controlling for perseveration, spatial learning of the new hidden platform declined significantly across perseveration days (pDay1, pDay2… p<0.001); learning across days did not differ between groups (p=0.07); groups did not differ in cumulative performance (p=0.57).
Figure 6
Figure 6. Measures of disinhibition during the test phase by day (pDay1, pDay2…; chronic ethanol: solid squares; saline: open squares).
Ethanol and saline treated animals did not differ in the time (A; p=0.3) or number of attempts (B; p=0.36) made trying to mount the floating platform. The time (p<0.001) and number (p<0.001) of entries declined across days in both groups. C) The proportion of animals that continued to mount the floating platform declined in both the saline (p<0.001) and CIE (p<0.001) pre-treated groups.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Measures of inefficiency during the test phase (chronic ethanol: gray bars; saline: open bars) as animals swim to either the floating (left panel) or hidden (right panel) platforms.
Animals treated with chronic ethanol during adolescence swam longer (A) and farther (B) before reaching the floating platform on those days on which they swam to the floating platform. There was no difference between groups in behavioral efficiency when they swam directly to the hidden platform. * p<0.05.
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