Effects of social housing conditions on ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization in Swiss mice.

Rationale: In previous animal model studies, it was shown that drug sensitization is dependent upon physical environmental conditions. However, the effects of social housing conditions on drug sensitization is much less known.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of social conditions, through the size of housing groups, on ethanol stimulant effects and ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization in mice.

Voluntary alcohol binge-drinking in adolescent C57Bl6 mice induces delayed appearance of behavioural defects in both males and females.

Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by significant changes in brain architecture and behaviour. The immaturity of the adolescent brain is associated with heightened vulnerability to exogenous agents, including alcohol. Alcohol is the most consumed drug among teenagers, and binge-drinking during adolescence is a major public health concern.

Long-term exposure to daily ethanol injections in DBA/2J and Swiss mice: Lessons for the interpretation of ethanol sensitization.

Most mice ethanol sensitization studies focused on neurobiology at the expense of its behavioral characterization. Furthermore, relatively short ethanol exposures (10 to 20 injections) were used in these studies. The first aim of the present study is to better characterize the development and expression of ethanol sensitization after an extended exposure of 45 daily injections.