# Adolescent alcohol consumption produces long term changes in response inhibition and orbitofrontal-striatal activity in a sex-specific manner

## TL;DR

Adolescent alcohol use leads to long-term changes in brain activity and response inhibition, with effects differing between males and females.

## Contribution

The study reveals sex-specific neural and behavioral consequences of adolescent alcohol consumption in rats.

## Key findings

- Adolescent alcohol drinking impaired response inhibition and increased alcohol intake in male rats.
- Adolescent alcohol use reduced excitation after premature actions and increased OFC-DMS synchrony in males.
- OFC and DMS activity encoding was altered following adolescent alcohol exposure.

## Abstract

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is strongly associated with initiation of drinking during adolescence. Little is known about neural mechanisms that produce the long-term detrimental effects of adolescent drinking. A critical feature of AUD is deficits in response inhibition, or the ability to withhold a reward-seeking response. Here, we sought to determine if adolescent drinking affects response inhibition and encoding of neural events by the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and dorsomedial striatum (DMS), two regions critical for expression of response inhibition. Adolescent male and female rats were given access to alcohol for four hours a day for five consecutive days. Then, rats were tested in a cued response inhibition task as adolescents or adults while we recorded concomitantly from the OFC and DMS. Adolescent voluntary alcohol drinking impaired response inhibition and increased alcohol drinking in male but not female rats. Adolescent alcohol drinking was associated with reduced excitation following premature actions in adults and increased OFC-DMS synchrony in male but not female rats. Collectively, these data suggest sex-specific effects of adolescent alcohol drinking on response inhibition and corresponding alterations in cortical-striatal circuitry.

•Moderate adolescent alcohol drinking disrupts adult response inhibition.•Action encoding in the OFC and DMS changes after adolescent alcohol drinking.•OFC-DMS connectivity is altered in males after adolescent alcohol drinking.•Adolescent alcohol drinking increases alcohol intake in adult males.

Moderate adolescent alcohol drinking disrupts adult response inhibition.

Action encoding in the OFC and DMS changes after adolescent alcohol drinking.

OFC-DMS connectivity is altered in males after adolescent alcohol drinking.

Adolescent alcohol drinking increases alcohol intake in adult males.