Acute Effects of Ethanol on Social Behavior of Adolescent and Adult Rats: Role of Familiarity of the Test Situation

Abstract

Adolescent animals were more sensitive than adults to ethanol-induced social facilitation, but were less sensitive than adults to ethanol anxiolytic effects, as indexed by an ethanol-related reinstatement of social interactions in an unfamiliar, anxiogenic environment that typically decreases social activity. Adolescents were also less sensitive than adults to the suppression of social interactions seen at higher ethanol doses in both test situations. These adolescent-associated alterations in ethanol sensitivity are unlikely to be attributable to ontogenetic differences in ethanol pharmacokinetics, given that observed age-related changes included both suppressant and facilitatory effects, and that blood alcohol levels were similar in adolescent and adult animals. These findings demonstrate age-related differences in sensitivity to the effects of ethanol in a social milieu that vary dramatically with the context and particular ethanol consequences. The results suggest the importance of considering social and environmental factors as contributors to patterns of extensive alcohol use, particularly in adolescence.