Developmental Differences in Acute Ethanol Withdrawal in Adolescent and Adult Rats

Abstract

Taken together, these results suggest that adolescents do show an attenuated sensitivity to hangover-induced anxiogenesis in the EPM, an age difference not evident under other pretest conditions. Therefore, caution should be exerted when using the EPM to index anxiety across age. The robustness of withdrawal-related hypoactivity at both ages suggests that adolescents may not be globally insensitive to the consequences of previous binge-like exposure to ethanol, but rather less likely to express certain hangover-related consequences.