The effects of acute alcohol on motor impairments in adolescent, adult, and aged rats

• Acute alcohol impairs motor performance more in aged rats than in younger rats.
• Aged animals are more sensitive to the hypnotic effects of alcohol.
• Aerial righting reflex is a more reliable measure of motor impairments than rotarod.

Acute alcohol exposure has been shown to produce differential motor impairments between aged and adult rats and between adolescent and adult rats. However, the effects of acute alcohol exposure among adolescent, adult, and aged rats have yet to be systematically investigated within the same project using a dose-dependent analysis. We sought to determine the age- and dose-dependent effects of acute alcohol exposure on gross and coordinated motor performance across the rodent lifespan. Adolescent (PD 30), adult (PD 70), and aged (approximately 18 months) male Sprague–Dawley rats were tested on 3 separate motor tasks: aerial righting reflex (ARR), accelerating rotarod (RR), and loss of righting reflex (LORR). In a separate group of animals, blood ethanol concentrations (BEC) were determined at multiple time points following a 3.0 g/kg ethanol injection. Behavioral tests were conducted with a Latin square repeated-measures design in which all animals received the following doses: 1.0 g/kg or 2.0 g/kg alcohol or saline over 3 separate sessions via intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection. During testing, motor impairments were assessed on the RR 10 min post-injection and on ARR 20 min post-injection. Aged animals spent significantly less time on the RR when administered 1.0 g/kg alcohol compared to adult rats. In addition, motor performance impairments significantly increased with age after 2.0 g/kg alcohol administration. On the ARR test, aged rats were more sensitive to the effects of 1.0 g/kg and 2.0 g/kg alcohol compared to adolescents and adults. Seven days after the last testing session, animals were given 3.0 g/kg alcohol and LORR was examined. During LORR, aged animals slept longer compared to adult and adolescent rats. This effect cannot be explained solely by BEC levels in aged rats. The present study suggests that acute alcohol exposure produces greater motor impairments in older rats when compared to adolescent and adult rats and begins to establish a procedure to determine motor effects by alcohol across the lifespan.