Chronic alcohol consumption in alcohol-preferring P rats attenuates subsequent conditioned taste aversion produced by ethanol injections.
Rats of the P line were tested for the development of tolerance to the aversive effects of ethanol during 33 days of continuous availability of food, water and a 10% (v/v) ethanol solution. Beginning on the day following the removal of ethanol, five daily conditioned taste aversion (CTA) trials were administered to the ethanol-drinking P rats and an ethanol-naive control group. The CTA trials consisted of a 20-min access to a Polycose solution, followed by IP injection of saline, 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 g ethanol/kg. The ethanol-drinking rats developed a preference for the Polycose solution when it was paired with 0.5 g ethanol injections, but the control rats did not. Both control and ethanol groups had similar CTAs at the 1.5 g dose. However, at the 1.0 g dose, the ethanol group had an attenuated CTA compared with the water control group. The results suggest that P rats develop tolerance to aversive effects of ethanol during chronic drinking. This tolerance could contribute to the high ethanol intake in these selectively-bred rats.
Stewart
R B
RB
Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
McBride
W J
WJ
Lumeng
L
L
Li
T K
TK
Murphy
J M
JM
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D051381:Rats; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology
D000431:Ethanol