2026/04/01 by Taylor A. Simmons, A. Deshpande, Alicia R. Daley +4 · 1 voice
Neuroscience · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior #Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications #Stress Responses and Cortisol
paper · doi:10.1111/acer.70296
openalex publication_date 2026/04/01 · openalex created_date 2026/04/14 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
BACKGROUND: Environmental cues can become conditioned stimuli when associated with alcohol consumption, facilitating alcohol-seeking behavior and increasing relapse risk. Extinguishing alcohol-seeking behavior may reduce cue-induced responses; however, conditioned responding often occurs when the cue is presented in a different context than the one where the behavior was extinguished. Although prior research suggests that males generally show stronger context-dependent return of conditioned appetitive and fear responses, it is not known whether this sex difference extends to conditioned responses to alcohol-associated cues. METHODS: After a 5-week alcohol induction period, adult male and female Long-Evans rats underwent Pavlovian conditioning in Context A, where a 15% unsweetened alcohol solution was paired with a light cue. Extinction sessions were conducted in a distinct Context B in the absence of alcohol, followed by a test session in Context B (LTM) and then in Context A. RESULTS: Both sexes successfully extinguished alcohol-seeking behavior in Context B but exhibited robust alcohol-seeking behavior when reintroduced to the alcohol-associated context, Context A. No significant sex differences were observed in the magnitude of reemerged conditioned responding. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that changes of context induce alcohol-seeking behavior to return similarly in male and female rats, indicating that sex-independent mechanisms may underlie contextual relapse processes.