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Ethanol but not Nicotine Administration during Adolescence Leads to Alterations in Neurogenesis in the Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus During Protracted Abstinence

Asbee, Justin M. and Hayes, Dayna and Jackson, Pamela and Redmond, Sarah Ethanol but not Nicotine Administration during Adolescence Leads to Alterations in Neurogenesis in the Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus During Protracted Abstinence. 2016. Radford University, Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.

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Abstract

During adolescence increased risk-taking behavior can lead to experimentation with drugs and alcohol. The two most commonly co-abused drugs are ethanol and nicotine. Adolescents are particularly susceptible to a host of alterations following drug use, such as decreases in neurogenesis. Neurogenesis is the production of new neurons and consists of four stages: proliferation, differentiation, maturation, and survival. One area of the brain where neurogenesis occurs is the hippocampus, which plays an essential role in spatial memory. To examine the separate and combined effects of ethanol and nicotine on proliferation, adolescent male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered nicotine (0.3 mg/kg; s.c.) or saline every 8 hours for 10 days. Animals were also given ethanol (25% in nutritionally complete diet; oral gavage) or a control diet containing dextrose on the final 4 days of injections. An unhandled control condition was added to examine potential influences of administration procedures. Animals went through a withdrawal period of 17 days. During withdrawal, animals performed a behavioral test of spatial memory, the Morris water maze. Animals were perfused transcardially and brains were extracted. Brain tissue slices were stained using Ki67, and newly born neurons along the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus were quantified. During extended withdrawal, ethanol administration lead to decreased proliferation in the SGZ. An effect of nicotine or an interaction between ethanol and nicotine was not observed on proliferation. This study provides some insight into the effects of binge type ethanol consumption and nicotine use like that of a light smoker.

Item Type: Thesis
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > Department of Psychology
Date Deposited: 05 May 2017 18:03
Last Modified: 20 Apr 2023 12:49
URI: http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/302

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