Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychological Science

Department

Psychology

First Reader/Committee Chair

Amodeo, Leslie

Abstract

Adolescent alcohol consumption is a prevalent and significant public health issue. This exposure to alcohol leads to an increased vulnerability to alcohol use disorder (AUD) or other cognitive deficits later in adulthood. The current study aimed to explore the behavioral and circadian factors contributing to the initiation and maintenance of alcohol consumption during adolescence in rats. We investigated whether the baseline social aggression, anxiety-like behaviors, working memory, and sleep/wake activity patterns could be predictors of adolescent ethanol intake. Male and female Long Evans rats (N=36) were tested in the following behavioral assays: social play, open field, and spontaneous alternation tasks, prior to being exposed to 10 intermittent sessions of ethanol access. 24-hour locomotor activity of the rats was measured on a 12hr light and a 12hr dark period using a FitBark® monitor to measure circadian patterns. Results of the current study demonstrated that the rats in the high ethanol consuming group had significantly more dominant pins before ethanol consumption also had shorter rest periods with a significant increase in fragmentation during the first day of ethanol exposure. The high ethanol consuming rats also demonstrated greater activity during the light phase after 10 days of drinking, suggesting that alcohol consumption leads to changes in circadian activity. These findings suggest that social dominance and sleep fragmentation are predictors of higher ethanol intake during adolescence. Baseline anxiety-like behaviors and working memory prior to ethanol exposure were not predictors of ethanol consumption. The observed altered circadian activity furthers the need to examine the long-term neurobiological consequences of adolescent alcohol use on sleep regulation.

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