Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and malnutrition are two growing public health issues in the United States and the world. 140, 557 individuals die from excessive alcohol use each year and one in nine people are hungry and undernourished. Moreover, studies have shown that individuals who are malnourished are more likely to engage in reward-seeking behaviors such as drinking and drug use. The neural connection between malnutrition and alcohol use as it relates to reward suggests a higher risk for individuals who are malnourished and with AUD.
In this study, C57BL/6J female and male mice were exposed to a malnutrition protocol during their postnatal period. Pregnant female mice were fed a low protein or regular protein diet throughout lactation until pups were weaned on postnatal day (PND) 23. During adolescence, PND 35-55, the pups were tested for two-bottle choice (water and ethanol) consumption three days a week. After PND 60, adult consumption was tested using the same paradigm for four weeks. Increasing concentrations of quinine, a bitter tasting substance, (10 µm, 100 µm, 200 µm) were added to the ethanol during the final week to test for drinking despite negative consequences.
Results showed that female mice self-administered more ethanol than male mice, but there was no difference in ethanol consumption between malnourished and control groups. Interestingly, we saw that males were more aversive to quinine when exposed to the low protein diet, but we did not see the same effect in females. These findings suggest that malnutrition may play a role in addiction and relapse with sex as a factor and that more research is needed to explore this area.
Authors: August Ogunnowo, Biology and Neuroscience, Lindsey O’Lalde, Psychology and Neuroscience, D’Erick Underwood, Psychology,
Advisor(s): Anna K. Radke, Department of Psychology
Roman Zegarelli, Department of Psychology
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