Fischer rats consume 20% ethanol in a long-term intermittent-access two-bottle-choice paradigm

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 8; no. 11; p. e79824
• Main Authors: Mill, Douglas J, Bito-Onon, Jade J, Simms, Jeffrey A, Li, Rui, Bartlett, Selena E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 14-11-2013; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Alcohol Drinking - physiopathology; Alcohol Drinking - psychology; Alcohol use; Alcoholism; Alcoholism - physiopathology; Alcoholism - psychology; Alcohols; Animals; Choice Behavior; Consumers; Deprivation; Drinking behavior; Ethanol; Food habits; Laboratory animals; Male; Neurobiology; Neurosciences; Preferences; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Rodents; Separation; Species Specificity; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - physiopathology; San Francisco California; California; Queensland Australia; Australia; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079824

The 20% ethanol intermittent-access (IAE) two-bottle-choice drinking procedure has been shown to produce high voluntary ethanol consumption in a number of rat strains. For this study, we applied this procedure to male Fischer (F344) rats, a strain previously reported to exhibit low levels of ethanol consumption. We also subjected these animals to a two-week ethanol-deprivation-period to see if they would exhibit an alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) signified by a transient increase in alcohol consumption following deprivation. Our data show a separation between high and low consuming animals within this strain, with high-consumers exhibiting an escalation in consumption. In contrast, Fischer rats did not show a significant separation between high and low consumers or any significant escalation in consumption, using the 20% ethanol continuous-access two-bottle-choice drinking protocol. Following the two-week deprivation period, animals in the high (but not the low) IAE group exhibited the transient increase in ethanol consumption and preference typically associated with an ADE. Together, the data suggest that the intermittent access protocol is a useful protocol for increasing ethanol consumption.