My general research area is adolescent drug exposure and its long-term consequences. For this study, I investigated the effects of adolescent exposure to benzodiazepines (BZDs) on alcohol intake, preference, and neural response to alcohol in adulthood. This is important for the field because although adolescent alcohol exposure has been thoroughly researched, the long-term effects of other drugs such as BZDs—that are also frequently abused by adolescents —has not been studied as extensively. This study uses behavioral measures of anxiety-like behavior (open field test and elevated zero maze protocols), behavioral measures of drinking (two-bottle choice alcohol self-administration paradigm), and biological measures of neural activity (c-Fos immunohistochemistry). The major findings of this study show that there is a strong sex-dependent effect on the long-term effects of adolescent BZD exposure:only female subjects seem to be vulnerable to increased drinking behavior and have modulated neural responses to alcohol. In particular, at 20% alcohol concentration, female BZD-treated subjects had an insignificant alcohol preference trend compared to female control subjects. Female BZD treated subjects also had significantly increased c-Fos tagged cell density in the nucleus accumbens core and shell, indicating that the female BZD treated subjects may find alcohol exposure more rewarding. Future studies in this area should investigate the neural mechanisms of tolerance in the mesolimbic dopamine system. This work has been relevant for my intended career as I will be going to graduate school next year for a neuroscience PhD, and my undergrad work contributed significantly to the strength of my application.
Author(s): Zoe Platow, Biochemistry and Psychology Major
Advisor(s): Matthew McMurray, Department of Psychology
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