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Are adolescents more vulnerable to drug addiction than adults? Evidence from animal models.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Schramm-Sapyta, NL; Walker, QD; Caster, JM; Levin, ED; Kuhn, CM
Published in: Psychopharmacology (Berl)
September 2009

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE: Epidemiological evidence suggests that people who begin experimenting with drugs of abuse during early adolescence are more likely to develop substance use disorders (SUDs), but this correlation does not guarantee causation. Animal models, in which age of onset can be tightly controlled, offer a platform for testing causality. Many animal models address drug effects that might promote or discourage drug intake and drug-induced neuroplasticity. METHODS: We have reviewed the preclinical literature to investigate whether adolescent rodents are differentially sensitive to rewarding, reinforcing, aversive, locomotor, and withdrawal-induced effects of drugs of abuse. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The rodent model literature consistently suggests that the balance of rewarding and aversive effects of drugs of abuse is tipped toward reward in adolescence. However, increased reward does not consistently lead to increased voluntary intake: age effects on voluntary intake are drug and method specific. On the other hand, adolescents are consistently less sensitive to withdrawal effects, which could protect against compulsive drug seeking. Studies examining neuronal function have revealed several age-related effects but have yet to link these effects to vulnerability to SUDs. Taken together, the findings suggest factors which may promote recreational drug use in adolescents, but evidence relating to pathological drug-seeking behavior is lacking. A call is made for future studies to address this gap using behavioral models of pathological drug seeking and for neurobiologic studies to more directly link age effects to SUD vulnerability.

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Published In

Psychopharmacology (Berl)

DOI

EISSN

1432-2072

Publication Date

September 2009

Volume

206

Issue

1

Start / End Page

1 / 21

Location

Germany

Related Subject Headings

  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
  • Self Administration
  • Risk Factors
  • Reward
  • Psychiatry
  • Motor Activity
  • Motivation
  • Models, Animal
  • Behavior, Addictive
 

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Schramm-Sapyta, N. L., Walker, Q. D., Caster, J. M., Levin, E. D., & Kuhn, C. M. (2009). Are adolescents more vulnerable to drug addiction than adults? Evidence from animal models. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 206(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-009-1585-5
Schramm-Sapyta, Nicole L., Q David Walker, Joseph M. Caster, Edward D. Levin, and Cynthia M. Kuhn. “Are adolescents more vulnerable to drug addiction than adults? Evidence from animal models.Psychopharmacology (Berl) 206, no. 1 (September 2009): 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-009-1585-5.
Schramm-Sapyta NL, Walker QD, Caster JM, Levin ED, Kuhn CM. Are adolescents more vulnerable to drug addiction than adults? Evidence from animal models. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2009 Sep;206(1):1–21.
Schramm-Sapyta, Nicole L., et al. “Are adolescents more vulnerable to drug addiction than adults? Evidence from animal models.Psychopharmacology (Berl), vol. 206, no. 1, Sept. 2009, pp. 1–21. Pubmed, doi:10.1007/s00213-009-1585-5.
Schramm-Sapyta NL, Walker QD, Caster JM, Levin ED, Kuhn CM. Are adolescents more vulnerable to drug addiction than adults? Evidence from animal models. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2009 Sep;206(1):1–21.
Journal cover image

Published In

Psychopharmacology (Berl)

DOI

EISSN

1432-2072

Publication Date

September 2009

Volume

206

Issue

1

Start / End Page

1 / 21

Location

Germany

Related Subject Headings

  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
  • Self Administration
  • Risk Factors
  • Reward
  • Psychiatry
  • Motor Activity
  • Motivation
  • Models, Animal
  • Behavior, Addictive