Cognitive Distortions Associated with Alcohol and Marijuana Use in Uruguayan Citizens.

Background: Psychological distress (i.e., incipient symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression) may promote substance use through increased emission of cognitive distortions. These are automatic irrational thoughts that can promote distress, which in turn increases substance use. Aim: This study analyzed, in a sample of Uruguayan citizens, the unique contribution of cognitive distortions on the frequency and quantity of alcohol or marijuana use, over and above the contribution of psychological distress or the use of emotion regulation strategies. We also assessed whether these variables were associated with having initiated or resumed the use of a substance. Methods: A survey asked about alcohol and marijuana use, psychological distress, emotion regulation strategies, and cognitive distortions. The study comprised a convenience sample of 1132 participants (Mean age = 29.07 ± 8.19 years, 72.26% women). Separate hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted on the frequency and quantity of alcohol or marijuana use, whereas a logistic regression was applied on having initiated or resumed the use of a substance. Results: Several cognitive distortions were significant predictors of frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption or frequency of marijuana use, over and above psychological distress. Differential emission of automatic thoughts was also associated, along with higher scores of psychological distress, with a significantly higher probability of having initiated the use of a new substance or having resumed the use of a substance. Conclusions: Cognitive distortions may promote alcohol and marijuana use. Interventions aimed at modifying these distortions should be considered to reduce the emission of these behaviors.

Neurobehavioral alterations induced by third-trimester gestation-equivalent ethanol exposure are inhibited by folate administration.

Prenatal ethanol exposure (PEE) causes several neurobehavioral impairments in the fetus. Postnatal days (PDs) 4-9 in rodents are considered equivalent to the third trimester of gestation in humans. This period is characterized by high rates of synaptogenesis and myelination and the maturation of key structures and transmitter systems. Nutritional supplements, such as folate, have gained attention as putative treatments to mitigate detrimental effects of PEE. Folate is crucial for DNA synthesis and amino acid metabolism and heightens antioxidant defenses. The present study examined neurobehavioral effects of the concurrent administration of folate (20 mg/kg/day) and ethanol (5 g/kg/day) during PDs 4-9 in male and female Wistar rats. During PDs 16-18, the rat pups were tested for anxiety-like and exploratory activity in the light-dark box (LDB), open field (OF), and concentric square field (CSF) tests. After weaning, they were tested for sucrose preference and ethanol intake. Neonatal ethanol exposure reduced body weight in infancy but did not enhance ethanol self-administration or significantly affect performance in the OF or LDB. Neonatal ethanol exposure also reduced sucrose intake in the preference test and increased shelter-seeking in the CSF, and folate significantly inhibited these effects. The present findings suggest that folate, a treatment that is devoid of serious side effects, can ameliorate some neurobehavioral effects of PEE.

A review on the reciprocal interactions between neuroinflammatory processes and substance use and misuse, with a focus on alcohol misuse.

Background: The last decade has witnessed a surge of findings implicating neuroinflammatory processes as pivotal players in substance use disorders. The directionality of effects began with the expectation that the neuroinflammation associated with prolonged substance misuse contributes to long-term neuropathological consequences. As the literature grew, however, it became evident that the interactions between neuroinflammatory processes and alcohol and drug intake were reciprocal and part of a pernicious cycle in which disease-relevant signaling pathways contributed to an escalation of drug intake, provoking further inflammation-signaling and thereby exacerbating the neuropathological effects of drug misuse.Objectives: The goal of this review and its associated special issue is to provide an overview of the emergent findings relevant to understanding these reciprocal interactions. The review highlights the importance of preclinical and clinical studies in testing and validation of immunotherapeutics as viable targets for curtailing substance use and misuse, with a focus on alcohol misuse.Methods: A narrative review of the literature on drug and neuroinflammation was conducted, as well as articles published in this Special Issue on Alcohol- and Drug-induced Neuroinflammation: Insights from Pre-clinical Models and Clinical Research.Results: We argue that (a) demographic variables and genetic background contribute unique sensitivity to drug-related neuroinflammation; (b) co-morbidities between substance use disorders and affect dysfunction may share common inflammation-related signatures that predict the efficacy of immunotherapeutic drugs; and (c) examination of polydrug interactions with neuroinflammation is a critical area where greater research emphasis is needed.Conclusions: This review provides an accessible and example-driven review of the relationship between drug misuse, neuroinflammatory processes, and their resultant neuropathological outcomes.

Folate administration ameliorates neurobehavioral effects of prenatal ethanol exposure.

Background: Prenatal ethanol exposure (PEE) induces heightened ethanol intake at adolescence in preclinical studies. Ethanol intake alters the absorption of folate, a methyl-group donor critical for numerous cellular functions. The prenatal administration of folate is, therefore, a promising approach to reduce the effects of PEE.Objectives: Experiment 1 determined if prenatal folate modulated the effects of PEE on ethanol intake, anxiety-like response, and exploratory behaviors (Experiment 1) in Wistar rats. Experiment 2 assessed, in rats not given PEE, if postnatal folate reversed effects of ethanol exposure at postnatal days 28-42. Experiment 3 assessed if folate altered blood ethanol levels (BELs).Methods: Experiment 1 involved 242 (125 male) adolescent Wistar rats derived from dams given folate (20 mg/kg, gestational days - GD- 13-20) + ethanol (2.0 g/kg, GD 17-20), ethanol, or vehicle only at pregnancy. Experiment 2 involved 29 male adolescents administered vehicle or ethanol doses co-administered or not with folate. In Experiment 3 twelve adult females were tested for BELs after folate administration. These tests were applied: intake tests, light dark box (LDB), elevated plus maze, open field and concentric square field.Results: PEE heightened ethanol intake (η2 ps = 0.06-07) and induced hyperactivity and a reduced latency to exit the white area of the LDB (η2 ps = 0.12-17). These effects were partially inhibited by folate (p > .05). Rats exposed to ethanol exposure at adolescence exhibited reduced motor activity (η2 p = .17), regardless of folate treatment. Folate did not affect BELs.Conclusion: Folate administration should be considered as a preventive or acute treatment to attenuate the neurobehavioral effects of PEE.

From binge eating to binge drinking: A new and robust paradigm for assessing binge ethanol self-administration in male rats.

Animal models of alcohol (ethanol) self-administration are crucial to dissect the neurobiological mechanisms underlying alcohol dependence, yet only a few of these induce pharmacologically relevant levels of alcohol consumption and rarely the alcohol self-administration co-occurs with other addictive behaviours. The present study aims to validate a novel model of voluntary ethanol consumption in male Wistar rats, in which ethanol access follows a binge eating experience. Over 10 sessions, Wistar rats were exposed to binge or control eating (i.e., the ingestion of 11.66 and 0.97 kcal/3 min, respectively, derived from a highly palatable food), immediately followed by two-bottle choice intake tests (2%, 6%, 10% or 14% w/w ethanol vs. water). Rats exposed to binge eating drank significantly more 6% or 10% (w/w) ethanol than control peers, reaching up to 6.3 gEtOH /kg. Rats stimulated with 2%, 6%, 10% or 14% ethanol after binge eating, but not those given those ethanol concentrations after control eating, exhibited significant within-group increases in ethanol drinking. This ethanol consumption was not altered by quinine adulteration (up to 0.1 g/L), and it was blocked by naltrexone (10 mg/kg), administered immediately before binge eating. Blood ethanol levels significantly correlated with ethanol consumption; and the more ethanol consumed, the greater the distance travelled in an open field test conducted after the two-bottle choice test. Altogether, this self-administration model seems a valid and robust alternative with remarkable potential for research on different stages of the alcohol addiction and, particularly, to assess interactions between alcohol consumption and others addictive-like behaviours.

Factors Associated with Simultaneous or Concurrent Use of Alcohol and Marijuana in Argentina.

Background: The identification of factors promoting simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use is important to promote early intervention efforts. The associations between impulsivity facets and SAM (or concurrent alcohol and marijuana, CAM) use have been analyzed in North American samples. These topics, however, remain unexplored in South American samples. This study assessed if internalizing symptoms, five impulsivity dimensions, and emotional regulation strategies differentiate between participants who reported last 2-month SAM use, CAM use, alcohol, or marijuana only use, or that reported no substance use. Methods: A sample of 1057 Argentinian citizens answered an online survey. A multinominal logistic regression was conducted on drug use membership. Results: Circa 25% of the sample reported SAM use. Higher sensation seeking differentiated between SAM use versus no substance use, and those with lower sensation seeking were more likely to be classified into the alcohol-only group or into the nonuse group, than into the SAM use group. Stress scores uniquely predicted membership into the alcohol-only category. Those with lower use of emotional suppression were more likely than nonusers to be classified in all drug use categories, except CAM use. Higher emotional suppression scores were associated with membership into the nonuse group or the alcohol-only group, when compared to the SAM use group. Hazardous drinking was significantly greater in SAM than in alcohol-only users. Conclusions: The study highlights the relevance of sensation seeking as a predictor of SAM use and pinpoints emotional suppression as common factor modulating hazardous drug use behaviors.

The Association between Distress Tolerance and Alcohol Outcomes via Internal Drinking Motives.

INTRODUCTION: Previous work suggests that college students who perceive themselves as less able to tolerate negative affect are more motivated to use alcohol to alleviate psychological distress. Recent findings also indicate that distress tolerance influences alcohol outcomes via a positive reinforcement pathway. However, results concerning the association between distress tolerance and alcohol outcomes remain inconsistent. Aim: The present study examined the association between distinctive features of distress tolerance and alcohol outcomes via internal drinking motives (i.e., coping and enhancement) in Argentinean college students. Method: From April to November 2019, a sample of 387 college students with last-month alcohol use (Mean age = 21.09 ± 4.98) completed an online survey assessing alcohol outcomes (past-month frequency of binge drinking and negative alcohol-related consequences), internal drinking motives, and four components of distress tolerance (i.e., tolerance, appraisal, absorption, and regulation). Results: The associations between specific facets of distress tolerance and drinking outcomes were atemporally mediated by coping and enhancement motives. Coping motives significantly mediated the effect of absorption and appraisal on alcohol-related problems (i.e., lower absorption and lower appraisal were associated with more problems via higher coping motives). Enhancement motives significantly mediated the effect of absorption (lower absorption was associated with greater enhancement motives) on binge drinking frequency and alcohol-related problems. Conclusions: Distress tolerance was associated with alcohol outcomes via coping and enhancement motives in this sample of Argentinean undergraduates. The ability to withstand negative affect could be a focal point of interventions to prevent the development of maladaptive patterns of drinking.

ELSA 2018 Cohort: Protective Behavioral Strategies as Mediators of the Relationship between Risk Factors and Alcohol Outcomes in Argentinean College Freshmen.

AIMS: The present study examined which types of alcohol protective behavioral strategies ([PBSs], Manner of Drinking [MOD] strategies, Serious Harm Reduction [SHR] or Limiting/Stopping Drinking strategies [LSD]) mediate the effects of a comprehensive number of distal antecedents on alcohol drinking quantity and alcohol-related negative consequences. METHODS: A sample of 762 last-month college freshman drinkers from Argentina (Mean age = 19.60 ± 3.80) completed a survey that assessed alcohol outcomes (drinking quantity during a typical week and alcohol-related negative consequences), frequency of use of PBS and a set of distal antecedents (i.e. age at drinking onset, drinking motives, college alcohol beliefs and impulsivity-like traits). RESULTS: MOD significantly mediated the effects of college alcohol beliefs (higher beliefs were associated with lower MOD use) and coping motives (higher coping motives were associated with lower MOD use) on alcohol outcomes. SHR significantly mediated the effects of sex (women reported more frequent SHR use) and enhancement motives (higher motivation was associated with lower SHR use) on alcohol-related negative consequences. CONCLUSION: Our findings partially support a mediational role of PBS in the association between risk factors and alcohol outcomes, and offer valuable information for the design of interventions to reduce alcohol use in South-American college students. More studies examining PBS as mediators of distal antecedents are needed to fully understand the peculiarities of these associations in different cultures.

Effects of escalating versus fixed ethanol exposure on ∆FosB expression in the mesocorticolimbic pathway in adolescent and adult rats.

Background: We have reported induction of ∆FosB in adolescent rats that drank less ethanol than adults yet exhibited a progressive increase in ethanol intake.Objective: To test the hypothesis that an escalating pattern of ethanol exposure is more effective to induce ∆FosB expression [at prelimbic cortex (PrL), nucleus accumbens core and shell, striatum, basolateral amygdala (BLA) and central amygdala (CeC)] than a pattern equated for number of exposures yet employing a fixed ethanol dose.Methods: Adolescent and adult (Exp. 1, n = 48) male and female (n = 24 of each sex) or only adult male (Exp. 2, n = 36) Wistar rats were intermittently intubated with vehicle, escalating (from 0.5 to 2.5 g/kg) or fixed (2.0 g/kg) doses of ethanol, across 18 sessions. ∆FosB induction was assessed using immunohistochemistry. Ethanol intake, anxiety and risk-taking were assessed (in adults only) via two-bottles tests and the multivariate concentric square field.Results: Both patterns heightened ∆FosB levels similarly in adolescents and adults and in males and females. Fixed dosing induced ∆FosB in all areas (p < .05) except the CeC, whereas the escalating pattern induced ∆FosB in the PrL and BLA only (p < .05). Ethanol intake was initially lower in ethanol pre-exposed subjects than in control subjects (p < .05). Rats exposed to the fixed pattern exhibited enhanced risk-taking behavior (p < .05).Conclusions: The results agree with studies showing ethanol-mediated induction of ∆FosB in reward areas and indicate that, following ethanol intubations, this induction is similar in adolescents and adults. The induction of ∆FosB seems not necessarily associated with susceptibility for ethanol intake.

A multidimensional and multi-feature framework for cardiac interoception.

Interoception (the sensing of inner-body signals) is a multi-faceted construct with major relevance for basic and clinical neuroscience research. However, the neurocognitive signatures of this domain (cutting across behavioral, electrophysiological, and fMRI connectivity levels) are rarely reported in convergent or systematic fashion. Additionally, various controversies in the field might reflect the caveats of standard interoceptive accuracy (IA) indexes, mainly based on heartbeat detection (HBD) tasks. Here we profit from a novel IA index (md) to provide a convergent multidimensional and multi-feature approach to cardiac interoception. We found that outcomes from our IA-md index are associated with -and predicted by- canonical markers of interoception, including the hd-EEG-derived heart-evoked potential (HEP), fMRI functional connectivity within interoceptive hubs (insular, somatosensory, and frontal networks), and socio-emotional skills. Importantly, these associations proved more robust than those involving current IA indexes. Furthermore, this pattern of results persisted when taking into consideration confounding variables (gender, age, years of education, and executive functioning). This work has relevant theoretical and clinical implications concerning the characterization of cardiac interoception and its assessment in heterogeneous samples, such as those composed of neuropsychiatric patients.

At the Heart of Neurological Dimensionality: Cross-Nosological and Multimodal Cardiac Interoceptive Deficits.

OBJECTIVE: Neurological nosology, based on categorical systems, has largely ignored dimensional aspects of neurocognitive impairments. Transdiagnostic dimensional approaches of interoception (the sensing of visceral signals) may improve the descriptions of cross-pathological symptoms at behavioral, electrophysiological, and anatomical levels. Alterations of cardiac interoception (encompassing multidimensional variables such as accuracy, learning, sensibility, and awareness) and its neural correlates (electrophysiological markers, imaging-based anatomical and functional connectivity) have been proposed as critical across disparate neurological disorders. However, no study has examined the specific impact of neural (relative to autonomic) disturbances of cardiac interoception or their differential manifestations across neurological conditions. METHODS: Here, we used a computational approach to classify and evaluate which markers of cardiac interoception (behavioral, metacognitive, electrophysiological, volumetric, or functional) offer the best discrimination between neurological conditions and cardiac (hypertensive) disease (model 1), and among neurological conditions (Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, multiple sclerosis, and brain stroke; model 2). In total, the study comprised 52 neurological patients (mean [standard deviation] age = 55.1 [17.3] years; 37 women), 25 cardiac patients (age = 66.2 [9.1] years; 13 women), and 72 healthy controls (age = 52.65 [17.1] years; 50 women). RESULTS: Cardiac interoceptive outcomes successfully classified between neurological and cardiac conditions (model 1: >80% accuracy) but not among neurological conditions (model 2: 53% accuracy). Behavioral cardiac interoceptive alterations, although present in all conditions, were powerful in differentiating between neurological and cardiac diseases. However, among neurological conditions, cardiac interoceptive deficits presented more undifferentiated and unspecific disturbances across dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: Our result suggests a diffuse pattern of interoceptive alterations across neurological conditions, highlighting their potential role as dimensional, transdiagnostic markers.

ELSA cohort 2014: association of age of first drink and progression from first drink to drunkenness on alcohol outcomes in Argentinean college freshmen.

Background: College freshman are at-risk for hazardous alcohol drinking and for experiencing alcohol-related negative consequences. This is exacerbated in those featuring an early age of first alcohol use or of first drunkenness. It remains unclear which of these milestones is more strongly associated with alcohol outcomes. Objective: We examined, in Argentinean college drinkers (n = 4088; 43% men; racially and ethnically homogeneous), the association of age at drinking onset and progression to drunkenness (drunkenness naïve [Drunk-Naïve]; No-Delay [same age of first alcohol use and first alcohol intoxication]; one year of delay between age of first alcohol use and first alcohol intoxication; ≥2years of delay) on several alcohol outcomes. Methods: A survey measured substance use, age at drinking and drunkenness onset and alcohol-related consequences. Results: Alcohol consumption per drinking occasion was significantly greater in men than in women. An early drinking onset (alcohol use before age 13) and lifetime drunkenness independently exacerbated alcohol consumption per drinking occasion and during the last year. In men, Early-Onset was associated with a greater number of alcohol-related consequences when the delay between Early-Onset and the first drunkenness episode was 1 or ≥2 years yet did not significantly alter the number of negative consequences in Drunk-naïve or No-delay drinkers. In women, Early-Onset significantly enhanced the number of negative consequences when the delay was two years, but not when the delay was one-year or in Drunk-naïve or No-delay drinkers. Conclusions: The window between the first contact with alcohol and the first episode of drunkenness is a critical period to reduce alcohol-related problems.

Environmental enrichment during adolescence heightens ethanol intake in female, but not male, adolescent rats that are selectively bred for high and low ethanol intake during adolescence.

Background: Discriminating between adolescents who will eventually have ethanol use problems from those who do not is important. Environmental enrichment is a promising approach to reduce drug-related problems, but its impact on ethanol's effects and intake is being scrutinized. Objective: We tested the effects of environmental enrichment on ethanol intake, preference, and anxiety-like response as well as shelter seeking and risk-taking behaviors. Methods: Experiment 1 examined ethanol intake, preference, and anxiety-like responses in 46 male and 54 female Wistar rats that were derived from a short-term breeding program that selected for high and low ethanol drinking during adolescence (ADHI2 and ADLO2 lines, respectively). Shelter-seeking and risk-taking behaviors were assessed (Experiment 2) in ADHI2 and ADLO2 rats (73 males, 76 females) reared under environmental enrichment or standard housing conditions and given doses of ethanol (2.5 g/kg, intraperitoneal) for 3 weeks. Environmental enrichment was applied on postnatal days 21-42. Ethanol intake was measured on postnatal days 42-68. Anxiety-like behavior and exploratory responses were assessed using the light-dark box and multivariate concentric square field test. Results: In Experiment 1, environmental enrichment increased ethanol intake in female, but not male, ADHI2 and ADLO2 rats (p < 0.05). In the baseline measurement of Experiment 2, ADHI2 rats exhibited reduced risk-taking and increased anxiety-like behavior (p < .05). After exposure to environmental enrichment the ADHI and ADLO rats, both males and females, exhibited increased risk-taking and exploratory behavior (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Environmental enrichment appears to increase ethanol intake in female rats by promoting the exploration of new environments or stimuli. The findings indicate that environmental enrichment increased ethanol intake in female, but not male, rats. Clinical programs that treat alcohol use disorder by emphasizing environmental stimulation should be designed with caution.

Prenatal ethanol increases ethanol intake throughout adolescence, alters ethanol-mediated aversive learning, and affects µ but not δ or κ opioid receptor mRNA expression.

Animal models of prenatal ethanol exposure (PEE) have indicated a facilitatory effect of PEE on adolescent ethanol intake, but few studies have assessed the effects of moderate PEE throughout adolescence. The mechanisms underlying this facilitatory effect remain largely unknown. In the present study, we analysed ethanol intake in male and female Wistar rats with or without PEE (2.0 g/kg, gestational days 17-20) from postnatal days 37 to 62. The results revealed greater ethanol consumption in PEE rats than in controls, which persisted throughout adolescence. By the end of testing, ethanol ingestion in PEE rats was nearly 6.0 g/kg. PEE was associated with insensitivity to ethanol-induced aversion. PEE and control rats were further analysed for levels of µ, δ and κ opioid receptor mRNA in the infralimbic cortex, nucleus accumbens shell, and ventral tegmental area. Similar levels of mRNA were observed across most areas and opioid receptors, but µ receptor mRNA in the ventral tegmental area was significantly increased by PEE. Unlike previous studies that assessed the effects of PEE on ethanol intake close to birth, or in only a few sessions during adolescence, the present study observed a facilitatory effect of PEE that lasted throughout adolescence. PEE was associated with insensitivity to the aversive effect of ethanol, and increased levels of µ opioid receptor transcripts. PEE is a prominent vulnerability factor that probably favors the engagement of adolescents in risky trajectories of ethanol use.

Personality and Alcohol Expectancies Discriminate Alcohol Consumption Patterns in Female College Students.

AIMS: To characterize patterns of alcohol use in a sample of Argentinean female college students according to personality traits and alcohol expectancies. METHODS: Data from 298 female college students (M age = 18.27 years; SD = 1.37 years) from the city of Cordoba, Argentina were analysed using multinomial regression. RESULTS: Three drinking categories were identified, abstainers, moderate drinkers and regular drinkers with heavy episodic drinking, and these were differentiated by three personality traits [extraversion, disinhibition (DIS) and experience seeking (ES)] and three alcohol expectancies dimensions (sociability, risk/aggression and negative mood). Regular drinkers with heavy episodic drinking and moderate drinkers had, compared to abstainers, higher scores in extroversion and alcohol expectancies for social facilitation, and lower scores in alcohol expectancies for risk and aggression. Regular drinkers with heavy episodic drinking exhibited, compared to moderate drinkers, higher scores in ES, DIS, extroversion, alcohol expectancies for social facilitation and negative mood alcohol expectancies; as well as lower scores in risk and aggression alcohol expectancies. CONCLUSION: College women in Argentina with problematic alcohol drinking can be distinguished from those drinking moderately.

Propranolol reverses open field effects on frustration.

Reactivity to a reward is affected by prior experience with different reinforcer values of that reward, a phenomenon known as incentive relativity. Incentive relativity can be studied via the consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) paradigm, in which acceptance of 4% sucrose is assessed in animals that had been exposed to 32% sucrose. These downshifted animals usually exhibit significantly less sucrose acceptance than animals that always received the 4% sucrose solution. In previous work, we found that exploration of a novel open field (OF) before the first trial with the downshifted solution attenuated the contrast effect. The goal of the present experiments was to expand the knowledge on the effects of OF exposure on cSNC. We evaluated the effect OF exposure before the second downshift trial and assessed the mediational role of the adrenergic system in the effects of OF during the first and second trial of cSNC. The results indicate that OF applied before the first or second downshift trials exert opposite effects and that the adrenergic system is involved in the acquisition and consolidation of the OF information.

Contribution of time of drinking onset and family history of alcohol problems in alcohol and drug use behaviors in Argentinean college students.

AIMS: The aim of the study was to analyze independent and potential interactive effects of age at drinking onset and family history of alcohol abuse on subsequent patterns of alcohol drinking, alcohol-related problems and substance use. METHODS: Participants were college students (60.3% females, mean age = 20.27 ± 2.54 years) from the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Several measures were used to assess alcohol, tobacco and drug use. The Spanish version of the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire was used to assess alcohol-related problems. Factorial analyses of variance, or its non-parametric equivalent, were performed to explore differences in substance use behaviors and alcohol-related problems in subjects with early or late drinking onset and with or without family history of alcohol abuse. Chi-square tests were conducted to analyze the association between these two risk factors and categorical measures of alcohol, tobacco and drug use. RESULTS: Early onset of drinking was associated with amount of consumption of alcohol including up to hazardous levels, as well as tobacco and drug use. However, the frequency of alcohol problems and frequency of episodes of alcohol intoxication were only related to age of onset in those with a positive family history of alcohol problems. CONCLUSION: Delaying drinking debut is particularly important in the prevention of future alcohol problems in those adolescents who have a family history of such problems.

Binge ethanol intoxication heightens subsequent ethanol intake in adolescent, but not adult, rats.

A question still to be answered is whether ethanol initiation has a greater effect on ethanol consumption if it occurs during adolescence than in adulthood. This study assessed the effect of ethanol initiation during adolescence or adulthood on voluntary ethanol consumption when animals were still within the same age range. Adolescent or adult rats were given 5, 2, or 0 ethanol exposures. The animals were tested for ethanol consumption through two-bottle choice tests, before undergoing a 1-week deprivation. A two-bottle assessment was conducted after the deprivation. Adolescents, but not adults, given two ethanol administrations during initiation exhibited significantly higher ethanol intake during the pre-deprivation period. These adolescents also exhibited a threefold increase in ethanol intake after 7 days of drug withdrawal, when compared with controls. These findings suggest that very brief experience with binge ethanol intoxication in adolescence, but not in adulthood, impacts later predisposition to drink.