Alcohol hangover:impairments in behavior and bioenergetics in central nervous system

Alcohol hangover(AH)is defined as the temporary state after alcohol binge-like drinking,starting when EtOH is absent in plasma.Results from our laboratory have shown behavioral impairments and mitochon-drial dysfunction in an experimental model of AH in mice.Our model consisted in a single i.p.injection of EtOH(3.8 g/kg BW)or saline solution in male and female mice,sacrificing the animals 6 hours after injection.Motor and affective behavior together with mitochondrial function and free radical production were evaluated in brain cortex and cerebellum during AH.Results showed that hangover animals exhibited a significant reduction in neuromus-cular coordination,motor strength and locomotion together with a loss of gait stability and walking deficiencies.Moreover,an increment in anxiety-like behavior together with fear-related phenotype and depression signs were observed.In relation to bioenergetics metabolism,AH induced a reduction in oxygen uptake,inhibition of respira-tory complexes,changes in mitochondrial membrane permeability,decrease in transmembrane potential,increase in O2•-and H2O2 production and impairment in nitric oxide metabolism.All together our data suggest that the phys-iopathological state of AH involves behavioral impairments and mitochondrial dysfunction in mouse brain cortex and cerebellum showing the long lasting effects of acute EtOH exposure in CNS.