title: Levetiracetam results in increased and decreased alcohol drinking with different access procedures in C57BL/6J mice.
abstract: The antiepileptic levetiracetam (LEV) has been investigated for the treatment of alcohol abuse. However, little is known about how LEV alters the behavioral effects of alcohol in laboratory animals. The acute effects of LEV on alcohol drinking by male C57BL/6J mice were investigated using two different drinking procedures, limited access [drinking-in-the-dark (DID)] and intermittent access (IA) drinking. In the first experiment (DID), mice had access to a single bottle containing alcohol or sucrose for 4 h every other day. In the second experiment (IA), mice had IA to two bottles, one containing alcohol or sucrose and one containing water, for 24 h on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. In both experiments, mice were administered LEV (0.3-100 mg/kg intraperitoneally) or vehicle 30 min before access to the drinking solutions. In the DID mice, LEV increased alcohol intake from 4.3 to 5.4 g/kg, whereas in the IA mice LEV decreased alcohol intake from 4.8 to 3.0 g/kg in the first 4 h of access and decreased 24 h alcohol intake from 20 to ∼15 g/kg. These effects appear specific to alcohol, as LEV did not affect sucrose intake in either experiment. LEV appears to differentially affect drinking in animal models of moderate and heavier alcohol consumption.
authors: aDepartment of Neurology bBowles Center for Alcohol Studies cNeurobiology, Curriculum University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors: Eric W
authors: EW
authors: Fish
authors: Abigail E
authors: AE
authors: Agoglia
authors: Michael C
authors: MC
authors: Krouse
authors: R Grant
authors: RG
authors: Muller
authors: J Elliott
authors: JE
authors: Robinson
authors: C J
authors: CJ
authors: Malanga
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004327:Drinking Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010889:Piracetam / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D000431:Ethanol; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D013395:Sucrose; D010889:Piracetam