title: Lack of increased intermale fighting behavior in mice after low ethanol doses.
abstract: The effect of ethanol on intermale fighting behavior, measured mainly as the total fighting time, was studied using Swiss-Webster mice in 5-min encounters in a neutral arena (i.e., not the home cage). Ethanol treatment compared to control treatment had no statistically significant effect on fighting behavior when given to both equal-sized members of a pair of males socially isolated for a) 5 or 10 days at a dose of 0.4 g/kg IP; b) 4 weeks at 0.8 g/kg IP; and c) 38 weeks at 0.4 g/kg IP. Moreover, no significant effect was found when ethanol was given only to the expected dominant member of a pair, that is, to: a) a male isolated for 48 weeks confronting a younger and smaller group-housed male at 0.4 g/kg PO; and b) a male that had been pair housed with a female conspecific for 5 weeks confronting a group-housed male of equal age and weight at 0.4 g/kg IP. The results suggest that under these conditions ethanol does not lead to increased fighting behavior in Swiss-Webster male mice.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Center, Alko Ltd., Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Päivärinta
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D012934:Social Isolation
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol