Abstract

Adolescence is a developmental period associated with rapid age-specific physiological, neural, and hormonal changes. Behaviorally, human adolescents are characterized by age-typical increases in novelty-seeking and risk-taking, including the frequent initiation of alcohol and drug use. Alcohol use typically begins during early adolescence, and older adolescents often report high levels of alcohol consumption, commonly referred to as high-intensity drinking. Early-onset and heavy drinking during adolescence are associated with an increased risk of developing alcohol use disorders later in life. Yet, long-term behavioral consequences of adolescent alcohol use that might contribute to excessive drinking in adulthood are still not well understood. Recent animal research, however, using different exposure regimens and routes of ethanol administration, has made substantial progress in identifying the consequences of adolescent ethanol exposure that last into adulthood. Alterations associated with adolescent ethanol exposure include increases in anxiety-like behavior, impulsivity, risk-taking, and ethanol intake, although the observed alterations differ as a function of exposure regimens and routes of ethanol administration. Rodent studies have also shown that adolescent ethanol exposure produces alterations in sensitivity to ethanol, with these alterations reminiscent of adolescent-typical ethanol responsiveness. The goal of this mini-review article is to summarize the current state of animal research, focusing on the long-term consequences related to adolescent ethanol exposure, with a special emphasis on the behavioral alterations and changes to ethanol sensitivity that can foster high levels of drinking in adulthood.

Highlights

  • Initiation of alcohol use is commonly reported during early (11–15 years of age) adolescence (Faden, 2006; Masten et al, 2009; Morean et al, 2018), and this early initiation is frequently associated with the development of alcohol abuse/dependence later in life (Kuntsche et al, 2016)

  • Similar decreases in loss of the righting reflex (LORR) duration were evident following adult exposure as well (Jury et al, 2017). These findings suggest that adolescent ethanol exposure results in relative insensitivity to ethanol-induced sedation, the development of metabolic tolerance to ethanol cannot be ruled out

  • Adolescent alcohol exposure is associated with behavioral alterations and changes in ethanol sensitivity, it is still not clear whether these alterations contribute to increases in ethanol intake

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Summary

Introduction

Initiation of alcohol use is commonly reported during early (11–15 years of age) adolescence (Faden, 2006; Masten et al, 2009; Morean et al, 2018), and this early initiation is frequently associated with the development of alcohol abuse/dependence later in life (Kuntsche et al, 2016). A third of the studies (5 out of 16) that used voluntary ethanol consumption, such as 2BC or similar models of adolescent exposure, demonstrated increased ethanol intake later in life.

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