V-041 | Intermittent ethanol consumption and white noise exposure alter hippocampal oxidative state and related behaviors in adolescent male rats

Cognition, Behavior, and Memory
Author: Gonzalo Nahuel Corsi | Email: gonza_corsi@hotmail.com

Gonzalo Nahuel Corsi^1°, Lara Candela Araujo Añon^1°,Santiago Marcos^1°, Luciana D´Alessio^2°3°, Laura Ruth Guelman^1°2°, Sonia Jazmín Molina^1°

^1° Universidad de Buenos Aires. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos (CEFyBO, UBA-CONICET). Buenos Aires, Argentina.
^2° Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. 1ª Cátedra de Farmacología. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
^3° Universidad de Buenos Aires. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencias (IBCN, UBA-CONICET). Buenos Aires, Argentina

During adolescence, the brain undergoes complex changes and is more vulnerable to environmental agents that can disrupt its development. Ethanol (EtOH) intake combined with loud noise is common among human adolescents and both can individually harm the brain, causing oxidative stress and behavioral changes. Thus, this study investigated the combined effects of EtOH and noise on hippocampus (HC)-related behaviors and oxidative state in adolescent rats.
At postnatal day (PD) 28, male Wistar rats underwent an intermittent two-bottle choice paradigm for voluntary EtOH intake (11 sessions of 6%, 8%, 10% EtOH/1% sucrose). At PD39 and PD46, rats were exposed to noise (95-97 dB, 2h). Finally, at PD52 rats were evaluated on different behavioral tasks and HC was dissected to assess reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and catalase activity.
Results showed that EtOH intake, noise exposure, and their combination increased exploration compared to controls. Noise alone impaired spatial and long-term habituation memory and reduced risk assessment behaviors. However, the combined stimuli lowered ROS levels. No significant changes were observed in anxiety-like behavior or catalase activity among groups.
In conclusion, the combination of stimuli caused fewer behavioral changes than noise alone, suggesting that EtOH may help cope with noise stress. Additionally, rats exposed to both stimuli had lower ROS levels, likely due to activated antioxidant defenses that could prevent potential damag