Adolescent social isolation as a rodent model of heightened vulnerability to comorbid anxiety/stressor-related disorders and alcoholism

Although anxiety/stressor-related disorders and alcoholism frequently co-occur, the neural substrates underlying this comorbidity are unclear. To address this gap in our knowledge, we have characterized a rodent adolescent social isolation (aSI) model and shown that it elicits robust, long-lasting alterations in many behavioral risk factors for anxiety disorders or alcoholism, including increases in anxiety-like behaviors, deficits in fear extinction, and escalated ethanol intake. We are now using this model to identify neural substrates that contribute to the “anxiety/addiction vulnerable” phenotype engendered by this model.
Source: Alcohol - Category: Addiction Authors: Source Type: research