AI links reward seeking and low sociability in adolescent to later alcohol preference, revealing teen risk pathways.
An AI-driven behavioral analysis in adolescent mice (Mus musculus) revealed that distinct behavior patterns can forecast later alcohol preference, offering clues to factors influencing alcohol misuse risk in teens.
The model showed that strong natural reward-seeking and lower social interaction each increased the likelihood of choosing alcohol.
Findings reported in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research indicate that specific adolescent brain neurochemical pathways may increase vulnerability to alcohol use and could serve as future therapeutic targets for adolescents at risk of alcohol use disorder.(1✔ ✔Trusted Source
Behavioral profile predicts ethanol preference in adolescent mice, but not in adults: A machine learning approach
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Mapping Behavior to Alcohol Choice in Controlled Tests
For the study, researchers conducted a series of experiments, including maze tests, on adolescent and adult mice to assess behavioral characteristics such as novelty-seeking, anxiety-like behavior, sociability, and coping strategies.
They then measured natural reward response by comparing how much sugar water versus tap water the mice drank over 24 hours. Finally, they assessed whether the mice preferred alcohol or water when offered both over 5 days.
The results of the assessments were fed into a machine learning model, first to train it, then to test it before it conducted its analysis.
Age-Linked Differences in Alcohol Preference Signals
In the adult mice, none of the behavioral variables predicted ethanol preference. In the adolescent mice, two behavioral variables were associated with a preference for alcohol: natural reward seeking and sociability. Sugar water consumption, which demonstrated natural reward-seeking, was the most predictive of alcohol preference.
The rewarding effects of both natural rewards and alcohol are reinforced by dopamine pathways, which are still developing during adolescence, increasing susceptibility to substance use. The researchers suggest a particular chemical messenger in the brain called orexin may play a role in helping to reduce adolescent alcohol use.
Social Behavior and Neurochemical Links to Alcohol Choice
Sociability also emerged as an important factor associated with alcohol preference, with less sociable mice–those that preferred solitude rather than the company of another mouse during the sociability test–likely to choose alcohol in the alcohol preference test. The researchers speculate that this effect may relate to oxytocin, a hormone associated with social behavior.
The study suggests interesting avenues for future research into preventing alcohol misuse in adolescents, but, as with all preclinical studies, it does not establish whether the findings apply to humans.
Reference:
- Behavioral profile predicts ethanol preference in adolescent mice, but not in adults: A machine learning approach – (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acer.70203)
Source-Research Society on Alcohol