Enhanced ethanol intake in preweanling rats following exposure to ethanol in a nursing context.
Several studies have confirmed that diet selection patterns of adult rats are at least partially established as a result of early experiences with food-related stimuli present in the milk of a lactating female (e.g., Capretta & Rawls, 1974; Galef & Clark, 1972; Galef & Henderson 1972). The present experiments were designed to investigate whether preweanling rats would similarly modify their acceptance of an ethanol solution following exposure to this cue in a nursing context. In Experiment 1, 8-, 12-, and 16-day-old rats were given ethanol, delivered intraorally in compound with milk, while given the opportunity to suckle an anesthetized dam. Subsequent testing revealed that 12- and 16-day-old subjects evidenced enhanced intake of the ethanol relative to controls, while 8-day-olds did not. Finally, the oldest (16 days of age) subjects also expressed a conditioned aversion to the milk when tested 24 hr after conditioning and ethanol-ingestion testing. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the critical factor for ethanol conditioning was the opportunity to suckle, rather than the simultaneous presence of milk. Finally, the aversion to milk observed in Experiment 1 was shown to have resulted from long-delay learning, due to the ingestion of a sufficient dose of ethanol during testing to serve as an aversive unconditioned stimulus (Exp. 3).
Hunt
P S
PS
Center for Developmental Psychobiology, Binghamton University, NY 13902-6000.
Kraebel
K S
KS
Rabine
H
H
Spear
L P
LP
Spear
N E
NE
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000523:psychology*; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D000431:Ethanol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013391:Sucking Behavior; D013649:Taste; D014886:Weaning
D000431:Ethanol