Long-term spatial memory, anxiety-like behavior and oxidative stress markers in an adolescent binge-alcohol model: Evaluation of DHA as a potential protective agent.

Alcohol consumption escalates to 43% in the world population aged 15 years or older according to the World Health Organization. The prevalence of alcohol consumption and problems associated with it are observed in individuals between 18 and 24 years old and have increased in the last few years. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a binge-like model of ethanol consumption on anxiety-like behavior, long-term spatial memory and oxidative stress (OS) in adolescent rats and the possible amelioration by docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).Wistar rats received ethanol (2.0 g/kg) or vehicle on postnatal days (PDs) 28, 30, and 32, followed by DHA (1.0 mg/kg) or albumin administration. On PD 34, one cohort was assessed for anxiety-like behavior using the Light-Dark Box and the Multivariate Concentric Square Field, and blood and brain samples were collected for OS analysis. A separate cohort was evaluated for spatial memory in the Barnes maze on PD 41. Ethanol exposure did not induce an anxiety-like phenotype; however, DHA administration exerted an anxiolytic effect. Catalase activity and malondialdehyde levels positively correlated with time spent in the dark compartment in ethanol-exposed animals, suggesting a possible association between anxiety-related behavior and oxidative status. Moreover, adolescent ethanol exposure impaired spatial memory performance, increasing latency and distance to the goal, while DHA partially mitigated these deficits. Together, these findings highlight adolescence as a sensitive period for ethanol-induced cognitive alterations and support DHA as a potential neuroprotective strategy against long-term behavioral and biochemical consequences of adolescent alcohol exposure.