Author: Christopher Daniell, Shelby Bartlett, & Jessica A. Siegel
Date: July 2013
Abstract
The college lifestyle is associated with both a high-fat diet and alcohol consumption. While the isolated effects of diet and alcohol consumption on cognition and behavior are well studied, there is little known about the effect of both together. In this study, we created a mouse model of the college lifestyle in order to better understand the potential combined effects of a high-fat diet and alcohol consumption on cognition and behavior. Adult C57BL/6J female mice were exposed to either regular food or high-fat food and daily injections of either saline or ethanol. The Porsolt forced swim test (FST), open field, and novel object recognition test measured depression-like behavior, anxiety-like behavior and locomotion, and memory, respectively. In the Porsolt forced swim test, ethanol-exposed mice trended towards spending more time immobile indicating increased depressive-like behavior. Ethanol exposure also decreased distance moved by the mice in the center of the open field arena, suggesting increased anxiety-like behavior. The high-fat diet had no effect in the FST, but, it did increase distance moved in the open field. There were no effects of diet or ethanol exposure on memory in the novel object recognition test. In conclusion, it appears that ethanol can increase the risk for depression-like behavior and anxiety-like behavior in female mice, but contrary to our original hypothesis, there were no effects or interactions of high-fat diet on depressive behavior or cognition in the current study. The findings regarding ethanol’s effects correspond to the current high rates of student depression and anxiety seen on college campuses.