Extended operant training increases infralimbic and prelimbic cortex Fos regardless of fear conditioning experience.

Extended fear training can lead to initially low fear expression that grows over time, termed fear incubation. Conversely, a single fear conditioning session typically results in high fear initially that is sustained over time. Fear expression decreases across extended training, suggesting that a fear extinction-like process might be responsible for low fear observed soon after training.

Pre-training naltrexone increases conditioned fear learning independent of adolescent alcohol consumption history.

Our previous research has shown a relationship between low voluntary alcohol consumption and high conditioned fear in male Long Evans rats. Here, we examined whether differences in the endogenous opioid systems might be responsible for these differences. Rats received 6 weeks of chronic intermittent to 20% alcohol (v/v) or water-only from PND 26-66.

Pre-training inactivation of basolateral amygdala and mediodorsal thalamus, but not orbitofrontal cortex or prelimbic cortex, impairs devaluation in a multiple-response/multiple-reinforcer cued operant task.

Reinforcer devaluation is a task often used to model flexible goal-directed behavior. Here, we inactivated basolateral amygdala (BLA), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), mediodorsal thalamus (MD) (Exp. 1) and prelimbic cortex (PL) (Exp.

Voluntary alcohol access during adolescence/early adulthood, but not during adulthood, causes faster omission contingency learning.

In omission contingency training, rodents learn to suppress their natural tendency to approach or touch a reward-predictive cue (termed "autoshaping" or "sign-tracking" responses) if the approach/touching responses lead to the omission of the reward. Previous research has shown that high levels of alcohol exposure (through alcohol vapor exposure) or adolescent alcohol consumption (with some versions of the omission contingency task) can lead to faster omission contingency learning. However, the alcohol exposure procedures and/or omission contingency task parameters differed between these different demonstrations.

Individual differences in voluntary alcohol consumption are associated with conditioned fear in the fear incubation model.

Previous research in male Long Evans rats has shown a relationship between low voluntary alcohol consumption and high conditioned fear after a single training session. Here, we determined whether chronic intermittent access (CIA) to alcohol during adolescence/early adulthood or during adulthood would alter or be associated with auditory-cued conditioned fear levels using an extended training fear incubation procedure. This training procedure leads to low fear soon after training that grows over one month.

Individual differences in conditioned fear are associated with levels of adolescent/early adult alcohol consumption and instrumental extinction.

Previous research has shown a relationship between alcohol exposure and conditioned fear, but the nature of this relationship remains unclear. We determined whether chronic intermittent access to alcohol during adolescence and early adulthood would alter or be associated with the level of conditioned fear to an auditory cue in male Long Evans rats. Rats received 6 weeks of chronic intermittent access to 20% alcohol or water from PND 26-66 and began behavioral testing 10 days later.

Relationship of low doses of alcohol voluntarily consumed during adolescence and early adulthood with subsequent behavioral flexibility.

Previous alcohol use is associated with impaired decision-making and impulsivity in humans, but the relationship between alcohol use and decision-making/impulsivity is unclear. In two experiments, we determined whether chronic intermittent access to alcohol during adolescence and early adulthood would alter or be correlated with performance in a go/no-go reversal task, a devaluation task, or operant extinction. Rats received 6 weeks of chronic intermittent access to 20% alcohol or water from postnatal day 26 to 66 and then behavioral testing was initiated 1.