An animal model for low dose ethanol-induced locomotor stimulation: behavioral characteristics.
The present paper describes a rat strain, Maudsley reactive (MR/N), which dramatically and reliably shows enhanced locomotor stimulation in an openfield apparatus after low doses of ethanol. Other strains, Sprague-Dawley and Wistar inbred, do not show stimulation, whereas Maudsley nonreactive rats show a less dramatic and variable response to ethanol, compared to the MR/N strain. Female MR/N rats show greater stimulation than male MR/N rats, and the response is dose-, age-, and apparatus-related. We conclude that low dose ethanol-induced locomotor stimulation in the MR/N rat strain could be a valuable rodent model for studying central neurochemical correlates of alcohol intoxication.
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D000431:Ethanol