Efects of N-acetylcysteine on reinstatement of the ethanol operant self-administration induced by stress in rats

Abstract

The contemporary lifestyle facilitates the access to psychoactive abuse substances and makes frequent the exposure to stress. This may facilitate the development of health problems by the association of stress with this substance of abuse. It is not nowadays that ethanol is a public health problem and the number of individuals who make use of this substance increasingly growing. When associated with stress, behavioral changes triggered by ethanol are exacerbated, triggering many problems in the life of the individual and society, and this has being a challenge for the treatment of alcoholics. Some studies found that the drug N-acetylcysteine (N-AC) is capable of inhibiting behaviors related to drug abuse such as cocaine and nicotine, but there are no reports of this drug applied to animal models of ethanol relapse. The objective of this project is to evaluate the effects of acute treatment with N-Ac on relapse to operant self-administration induced by restraint stress. For this, Wistar rats are going to be trained to ethanol solution operant self-administration followed by extinction protocol (10 days). First it is going to be tested a protocol of relapse of ethanol self-administration induced restraint stress, which is applied for 30 minutes before testing the reinstatement of ethanol self-administration. Subsequently, it is going to be tested N-Ac administration effect (60 and 120 mg / kg) prior to exposure to stress and subsequent reinstatement test of ethanol self-administration. (AU)