Adolescent females are the largest consumers of premixed drinks also known as Alcopops due to the high contents of sugar and alcohol. Both substrates elicit dopamanine release which results in positive sense of reward and reinforcement. The present study aims is to establish an animal model of adolescent female rats drinking behaviour based on the consumption of alcopops.
48 randomly assigned female rats were either exposed to (i) alcopop solution, (ii) 20% sucrose or (iii) water following a lever press over a 20 day period.
Overall alcopop and 20% sucrose group increased response frequence over the 20 day period whilst water response stayed constant. The study demonstrates the reward and reinforcement effects of alcohol and sugar. 1. Introduction …show more content…
While-long term alcohol abuse results in structural and functional changes in the brain, neuropharmacological reports suggest a neurological basis for alcohol addiction and abuse; dopamine neurotransmitter release in the region of the nuceaus accumbens has played a role in reinforcement (Di Chiara & Imperato, 1988 ). The release in of dopamine in the brain elicits a positive sensation which results in reward and reinforcement of repeated alcohol and drug use. Drugs of abuse and palatable foods containing high percentage of sugar evoke similar neurochemical response which suggests they share certain neural substrates (Rada, Avena & Hoebel, 2005). Research by Colantuoni et al (2002) demonstrates that sugar causes a release of dopamine in the limbic system which also prouces a positive effect and reinforces behaviour. Due to the high level of sugar and alcohol in typical alcopop drinks it puts individuals at risk of alcohol related injury as a result of ‘binging’.
Animals as models provide a unique resource to enhance our understanding of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that play a role in alcohol abuse, addiction and consequently, withdrawal. Furthermore animal models provide insight into the …show more content…
Patients with long term exposure had reduced volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex (Telesford et al., 2015) and impaired sensory, motor and emotional systems (Anticevic et al., 2012). Spagnolli et al. (2013) also reported structural changes to the temporal lobe and the temporal gyrus after exposure to alcohol. Structural and functional changes can result in the onset of mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, thus pharmacotherapies play an important role in abstaining from alcohol misuse. Research by McGregor and Gallate (2004) suggests that alcohol craving in rats was suppressed with the application of selected cannabinoid receptor antagonist an opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone. Despite available anticraving treatements, the neurobiological processes that underline repeated drug and alcohol abuse are not fully understood. It is important to continue to conduct experiments to improve current treatement options as they only have moderate abstenance effect. Limitations
The current model should be revised and improved for future research posibilities. The use of animals as models is advantagous as it allows controlled conditions and experiemental control. However animals such as rats or non-human primates are often reluctant to consume large quantities of alcohol. Due to the structure of animal brain, it may take longer to induce intoxication in samples,
48 randomly assigned female rats were either exposed to (i) alcopop solution, (ii) 20% sucrose or (iii) water following a lever press over a 20 day period.
Overall alcopop and 20% sucrose group increased response frequence over the 20 day period whilst water response stayed constant. The study demonstrates the reward and reinforcement effects of alcohol and sugar. 1. Introduction …show more content…
While-long term alcohol abuse results in structural and functional changes in the brain, neuropharmacological reports suggest a neurological basis for alcohol addiction and abuse; dopamine neurotransmitter release in the region of the nuceaus accumbens has played a role in reinforcement (Di Chiara & Imperato, 1988 ). The release in of dopamine in the brain elicits a positive sensation which results in reward and reinforcement of repeated alcohol and drug use. Drugs of abuse and palatable foods containing high percentage of sugar evoke similar neurochemical response which suggests they share certain neural substrates (Rada, Avena & Hoebel, 2005). Research by Colantuoni et al (2002) demonstrates that sugar causes a release of dopamine in the limbic system which also prouces a positive effect and reinforces behaviour. Due to the high level of sugar and alcohol in typical alcopop drinks it puts individuals at risk of alcohol related injury as a result of ‘binging’.
Animals as models provide a unique resource to enhance our understanding of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that play a role in alcohol abuse, addiction and consequently, withdrawal. Furthermore animal models provide insight into the …show more content…
Patients with long term exposure had reduced volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex (Telesford et al., 2015) and impaired sensory, motor and emotional systems (Anticevic et al., 2012). Spagnolli et al. (2013) also reported structural changes to the temporal lobe and the temporal gyrus after exposure to alcohol. Structural and functional changes can result in the onset of mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, thus pharmacotherapies play an important role in abstaining from alcohol misuse. Research by McGregor and Gallate (2004) suggests that alcohol craving in rats was suppressed with the application of selected cannabinoid receptor antagonist an opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone. Despite available anticraving treatements, the neurobiological processes that underline repeated drug and alcohol abuse are not fully understood. It is important to continue to conduct experiments to improve current treatement options as they only have moderate abstenance effect. Limitations
The current model should be revised and improved for future research posibilities. The use of animals as models is advantagous as it allows controlled conditions and experiemental control. However animals such as rats or non-human primates are often reluctant to consume large quantities of alcohol. Due to the structure of animal brain, it may take longer to induce intoxication in samples,