title: Time course of ethanol's effects on locomotor activity, exploration and anxiety in mice.
abstract: The time course of the effects of two doses of ethanol on exploration, locomotor activity and anxiety were investigated using the holeboard and plus-maze tests. In an 8 min holeboard test the lower (1.2 g/kg) dose increased both exploration and locomotor activity 0.5 h after ethanol administration whereas the higher (2.4 g/kg) dose decreased exploration but caused an even greater increase in locomotor activity. This activity increase was also seen 1 h post-administration. In the plus-maze test both doses showed an increased number of arm-entries 0.5 h and 1 h after administration but only the 2.4 g/kg dose caused anxiolytic effects persisting for over 2 h. The results add further support to the notion that the behavioral effects of ethanol vary with dose, time of administration and the behavioral measure taken.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Studies, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Durcan
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Lister
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D000431:Ethanol