Effects of binge drinking and the anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin on spatial memory and cognitive flexibility in mice.

Abstract In previous research, we found that chronic-intermittent ethanol administration (CIEA), a model of binge drinking, impaired emotional memory in mice, and this impairment was counteracted by the anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of CIEA on spatial memory and cognitive flexibility in adolescent mice of both sexes. Animals were randomly assigned to one of four groups for each sex: SS (saline + saline), SA (saline + alcohol), SI (saline + indomethacin), and AI (alcohol + indomethacin). They were injected with saline, ethanol (3 g/kg) or indomethacin (10 mg/kg) for the first three days of each week, throughout three weeks. 96 h after tre…

Blood Alcohol Concentration-Related Lower Performance in Immediate Visual Memory and Working Memory in Adolescent Binge Drinkers

The binge drinking (BD) pattern of alcohol consumption is prevalent during adolescence, a period characterized by critical changes to the structural and functional development of brain areas related with memory and cognition. There is considerable evidence of the cognitive dysfunctions caused by the neurotoxic effects of BD in the not-yet-adult brain. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of different blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) on memory during late adolescence (18–19 years old) in males and females with a history of BD. The sample consisted of 154 adolescents (67 males and 87 females) that were classified as refrainers if they had never previously drunk alc…

Online consultations in mental healthcare: Modelling determinants of use and experience based on an international survey study at the onset of the pandemic

INTRODUCTION: While online consultations have shown promise to be a means for the effective delivery of high-quality mental healthcare and the first implementations of these digital therapeutic contacts go back nearly two decades, uptake has remained limited over the years. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically altered this relative standstill and created a unique turning point, with a massive amount of both professionals and clients having first hands-on experiences with technology in mental healthcare. OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to document the uptake of online consultations and explore if specific characteristics of mental health professionals across and beyond Europe c…

Indomethacin counteracts the effects of chronic social defeat stress on emotional but not recognition memory in mice

We have previously observed the impairing effects of chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) on emotional memory in mice. Given the relation between stress and inflammatory processes, we sought to study the effectiveness of the anti-inflammatory indomethacin in reversing the detrimental effects of CSDS on emotional memory in mice. The effects of CSDS and indomethacin on recognition memory were also evaluated. Male CD1 mice were randomly divided into four groups: non-stressed + saline (NS+SAL); non-stressed + indomethacin (NS+IND); stressed + saline (S+SAL); and stressed + indomethacin (S+IND). Stressed animals were exposed to a daily 10 min agonistic confrontation (CSDS) for 20 days. All subjec…

Effects of social stress and clomipramine on emotional memory in mice.

We have previously observed impairing effects of social defeat stress (CSDS) on inhibitory avoidance (IA) in mice. Given the similarity between changes produced by social stress in animals and symptoms of certain human psychopathologies such as depression and anxiety, the effects of the antidepressant clomipramine on IA impairment produced by CSDS were evaluated in the present study. Male CD1 mice were randomly assigned to the groups: non-stressed+saline, non-stressed+clomipramine, stressed+saline and stressed+clomipramine. Stressed animals were subjected to daily agonistic encounters (10 min) in the home cage of the aggressor over a 20-day period. Just before each encounter, non-stressed a…

Emotional memory impairment produced by binge drinking in mice is counteracted by the anti-inflammatory indomethacin

Abstract The Binge Drinking (BD) pattern of alcohol consumption, prevalent in adolescents and young adults, has been associated with memory impairment. In addition, evidence shows that alcohol abuse causes neuroinflammation, which may contribute to the brain damage produced by alcohol and explain its cognitive consequences. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the anti-inflammatory indomethacin in counteracting the memory impairment produced by alcohol (ethanol) in adolescent mice of both sexes. Animals were randomly assigned to one of four groups for each sex: SS (saline + saline), SA (saline + alcohol), SI (saline + indomethacin) and AI (alcohol + indomethacin). They were inje…

An Animal Model of Alcohol Binge Drinking: Chronic-Intermittent Ethanol Administration in Rodents

Binge drinking (BD), characterized by intermittent consumption of large quantities of alcohol in short periods of time, is the main alcohol consumption pattern in adolescents and young adults. BD has serious biomedical consequences, and it is a prominent risk factor for later development of alcohol use disorders. Rodent models offer exceptional power to study these negative consequences of BD. This chapter focuses on one of these BD models: the chronic-intermittent ethanol administration (CIEA) paradigm. Essentially, CIEA consists of the administration in rats or mice of i.p. injections of ethanol (doses: 3-4 g/kg) for several consecutive days each week, in alternation with several days wit…

Differential Effects of Alcohol on Memory Performance in Adolescent Men and Women with a Binge Drinking History.

Aims Binge drinking (BD) is characterized by intermittent consumption of large quantities of alcohol in short periods. This pattern of drinking is prevalent among adolescents, and has been associated with undermined learning and memory ability. This study investigates the relationships between a history of BD and the effects of acute exposure to alcohol on learning and memory performance in adolescent men and women. Methods A high, acute dose of alcohol or control refreshment was administered to a sample of 172 adolescent undergraduate students, some of which had a history of BD and others of which had refrained from alcohol consumption. Subsequently, immediate visual memory (IVM) and worki…

Methods for Evaluating the Interaction Between Social Stress and Environmental Enrichment in Animal Models of Nicotine Addiction

The environmental enrichment (EE) paradigm has been evaluated as a means of counteracting some of the consequences of chronic stress in rodents as well as a model of protective environment against drug abuse development. In the present chapter, our main aim is to describe the models of EE and chronic social stress and how they can be applied jointly in order to evaluate the effects of early psychosocial stress in animals exposed of different environments (enriched environment or standard environment). Furthermore, both paradigms could be applied in animal models of nicotine addiction, so the guidelines for the application of a chronic oral nicotine treatment in mice will be described. The h…

Effects of several degrees of chronic social defeat stress on emotional and spatial memory in CD1 mice

In the present study, the effects of several degrees of CSDS (Chronic Social Defeat Stress) on emotional and spatial memory in mice were evaluated in separate experiments. Male CD1 mice were randomly assigned to four experimental groups (n=10-12) for each experiment: NS (non-stressed), S5, S10 and S20 (5, 10 and 20 sessions of CSDS, respectively). The S groups underwent the corresponding number of agonistic encounters (10min each) over a 20-day period. 24h after the last session of CSDS, mice performed the inhibitory avoidance (Experiment 1) or the Morris water maze test (Experiment 2). In both experiments, animals were also evaluated in the elevated plus maze for 5min to obtain complementa…

Animal Models of Adolescent Binge Drinking

PO2-10BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION AND MEMORIES OF FACES AND SCENES IN ADOLESCENT BINGE DRINKERS

Inhibitory avoidance learning in CD1 mice: Effects of chronic social defeat stress

Chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) is an animal model widely used to determine the neurobiological mechanisms of stress and its associated pathologies. In this study, the effects of CSDS on inhibitory avoidance (IA) were evaluated in post-pubertal and adult male CD1 mice, instead of the C57BL/6J strain used in the CSDS standard protocol. CSDS consisted of daily 5-min (experiments 1 and 2) or 10-min (experiment 3) agonistic encounters on 21 consecutive days. Twenty four hours after the last session of CSDS, all the mice were tested for IA. They were also evaluated in an elevated plus-maze, obtaining complementary measures of locomotor activity and emotionality. In experiments 1 and 2, IA le…