Ethanol consumption in rats when dose size is under subject control.
Rats orally self-administered ethanol when they could control dose size as follows: A lever press initiated a trial; a press on 1 lever increased the previous trial duration by 30% whereas a press on a 2nd lever decreased the previous trial duration by 30%. During a trial, rats could drink either water, 8%, or 16% (wt/vol) ethanol (ETOH) from a lick-sensitive fountain. Mean per session intake of 8% and 16% ETOH was 0.8 g/kg and 1.3 g/kg, respectively. Water intake was negligible. Rats did not show a tendency to maintain a particular trial duration, nor did they adjust intertrial intervals to previous dose size (number of licks). When trials were collected into bouts, a positive relationship was found between bout size and interbout interval; this relationship was statistically significant for the 8% but not the 16% ETOH condition.
LaBounty
L P
LP
Department of Psychology, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota 55105, USA. labounty@macalester.edu
Lynch
W J
WJ
Carroll
M E
ME
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012646:Self Administration; D013997:Time Factors
D000431:Ethanol