title: Differences between alcohol-preferring and alcohol-nonpreferring rats in ethanol generalization.
abstract: Alcohol-preferring (P rats) and alcohol-nonpreferring rats (NP rats) were trained to discriminate intraperitoneal injections of 0.5 g/kg ethanol, or subcutaneous injections of 0.6 mg/kg nicotine from saline. P rats learned the ethanol discrimination more rapidly and made a higher percentage (88%) of their responses on the ethanol lever after ethanol and a lower percentage (7%) after saline than NP rats (78 and 15%, respectively). In substitution tests, increasing doses of ethanol produced increases in the percentage of responses on the ethanol lever with similar ED50s (0.43 and 0.44 g/kg) in P and NP rats. P rats trained to discriminate ethanol from saline made more responses on the ethanol lever after nicotine (80%) and d-amphetamine (63%) than NP rats (33 and 40%). The ethanol stimulus did not generalize to morphine in either P or NP rats. NP rats trained to discriminate ethanol from saline responded more on the ethanol lever after bupropion (77%) than P rats (49%). In rats trained to discriminate nicotine from saline, the nicotine discriminative stimulus did not generalize to ethanol in either P or NP rats, suggesting that the genetic difference in the stimulus generalization of ethanol was not symmetrical.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock 72205, USA.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: McMillan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Shide
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology; D003913:Dextroamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005795:Generalization, Stimulus / Q000187:drug effects*; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D000431:Ethanol; D009538:Nicotine; D003913:Dextroamphetamine