Investigating effects of alcohol consumption on probabilistic reversal learning in mice
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Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a disease in which a person consumes copious amounts of alcohol even without the desire to do so. This disorder’s severity on decision-making tasks has been studied with majority male subjects. To examine the impact on flexible decision-making skills, probabilistic reversal learning tasks are often used to test cognitive flexibility. Although existing studies have studied effects on reversal learning in rodents as well as using other types of debilitating substances/lesions, this study has been adapted to probabilistic measures using mice models for chronic alcohol consumption and to evaluate sex differences. Using a Med Associates operant box, 36 male and 36 female mice were food-deprived and tested using a multiple reversal (MR) behavioral task in which they must respond to a nose port with the highest probability of reinforcement. After a round of initial testing, half of the mice were administered 10% alcohol + 0.1% saccharin, while the other half (control group) received only 0.1% saccharin for 24 days and then tested once more. The male and female mice were analyzed separately to account for sex differences in alcohol effects. The number of reversals and the probability of choosing the nose port with the highest reinforcement (p(Correct)) were found to be significantly diminished in the male mice that received alcohol and found there to be no significant effect in the female mice. This study has concluded that there is a significant effect of sex in decision-making skills which amplifies the notion that both male and female subjects should be included in future research studies.