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Effects of alcohol on the acquisition and expression of fear-potentiated startle in mouse lines selectively bred for high and low alcohol preference

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Abstract

Rationale

Anxiety disorders and alcohol use disorders frequently co-occur in humans perhaps because alcohol relieves anxiety. Studies in humans and rats indicate that alcohol may have greater anxiolytic effects in organisms with increased genetic propensity for high alcohol consumption.

Objectives and methods

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of moderate doses of alcohol (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 g/kg) on the acquisition and expression of anxiety-related behavior using a fear-potentiated startle (FPS) procedure. Experiments were conducted in two replicate pairs of mouse lines selectively bred for high- (HAP1 and HAP2) and low- (LAP1 and LAP2) alcohol preference; these lines have previously shown a genetic correlation between alcohol preference and FPS (HAP > LAP; Barrenha and Chester, Alcohol Clin Exp Res 31:1081–1088, 2007). In a control experiment, the effect of diazepam (4.0 mg/kg) on the expression of FPS was tested in HAP2 and LAP2 mice.

Results

The 1.5 g/kg alcohol dose moderately decreased the expression of FPS in both HAP lines but not LAP lines. Alcohol had no effect on the acquisition of FPS in any line. Diazepam reduced FPS to a similar extent in both HAP2 and LAP2 mice.

Conclusions

HAP mice may be more sensitive to the anxiolytic effects of alcohol than LAP mice when alcohol is given prior to the expression of FPS. These data collected in two pairs of HAP/LAP mouse lines suggest that the anxiolytic response to alcohol in HAP mice may be genetically correlated with their propensity toward high alcohol preference and robust FPS.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by AA016843 for JAC. We are grateful to Dr. Nicholas J. Grahame for providing the breeders for the HAP1/LAP1 and HAP2/LAP2 lines.

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  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, 703 Third Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-2081, USA

    Gustavo D. Barrenha, Laran E. Coon & Julia A. Chester

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  1. Gustavo D. Barrenha
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  2. Laran E. Coon
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  3. Julia A. Chester
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Correspondence to Julia A. Chester.

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Barrenha, G.D., Coon, L.E. & Chester, J.A. Effects of alcohol on the acquisition and expression of fear-potentiated startle in mouse lines selectively bred for high and low alcohol preference. Psychopharmacology 218, 191–201 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-011-2285-5

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