title: Failure of Ro15-4513 to alter an ethanol-induced taste aversion.
abstract: The ability of Ro15-4513, an imidazobenzodiazepine inverse benzodiazepine agonist, to attenuate/block the acquisition of an ethanol (ETOH)-induced conditioned taste aversion (CTA) was investigated in two experiments. Experiment 1 examined the effects of Ro15-4513 (3 mg/kg) on rats' consumption of a novel saccharin solution under a traditional CTA paradigm. Experiment 2 examined the effects of Ro15-4513 (3 mg/kg) on rats' consumption of a novel saccharin solution under a preexposure CTA paradigm. Under the preexposure paradigm, rats were given Ro15-4513 immediately before each of five daily consecutive preexposure treatments prior to the initial conditioning day. To obtain maximal preexposure and unconditioned stimulus effects, a 2-g/kg dose of ETOH (20% v/v) was used in the present study. As previously reported, animals given ETOH following 20-min access to a novel saccharin solution established moderate to strong aversions, with the degree of aversion being directly related to the number of conditioning days. Experiment 1 showed that Ro15-4513 failed to alter the CTA induced by ETOH. Experiment 2 further showed that Ro15-4513 failed to block the preexposure effect exerted on the ETOH-mediated CTA. The results confirm previous reports regarding the failure of Ro15-4513 to disrupt an ETOH-induced CTA. These data are in agreement with a number of behavioral studies demonstrating the failure of Ro15-4513 to antagonize certain actions of ETOH. Moreover, the present study along with a previous report suggests that ETOH-induced CTA's do not appear to be mediated via actions at the GABA-BDZ receptor complex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: June
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: June
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Domangue
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Hicks
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Lummis
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lewis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001386:Azides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012439:Saccharin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D001386:Azides; D001569:Benzodiazepines; D000431:Ethanol; C042957:Ro 15-4513; D012439:Saccharin