title: Time-dependent changes in alcohol-seeking behaviour during abstinence.
abstract: Exposure of alcohol addicts to alcohol-related environmental cues may elicit alcohol-seeking behaviour even after protracted abstinence. The purpose of the present study was to assess time-dependent changes in alcohol-seeking behaviour in rats trained to respond for alcohol. The rats were re-exposed to alcohol-associated stimuli after 1, 28 or 56 days of withdrawal. During the re-exposure session, the rats were first allowed to respond in extinction. Then, reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behaviour was evoked by a complex of discrete alcohol-associated cues (auditory and light cues combined with taste and smell of alcohol). Extinction behaviour depended on abstinence duration with maximal responding after 28-day abstinence. Reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behaviour evoked by the discrete cues was highest after 56-day abstinence. No correlations were found between individual alcohol intakes, extinction behaviour and cue-induced reinstatement. These results suggest that: (i) alcohol-seeking behaviour may become more intense after long-term imposed abstinence; (ii) alcohol self-administration, extinction behaviour, and reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behaviour may be regulated by separate neural mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 9 Sobieskiego St., PL-02957 Warsaw, Poland. bienkow@ipin.edu.pl
authors.forename: Przemyslaw
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bienkowski
authors.forename: Artur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rogowski
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Korkosz
authors.forename: Pawel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mierzejewski
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Radwanska
authors.forename: Leszek
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaczmarek
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bogucka-Bonikowska
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kostowski
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects; D003463:Cues; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012646:Self Administration / Q000379:methods; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol