A study on diazepam and postwithdrawal drinking of ethanol solution in rats

Abstract

A 10-day ethanol inhalation procedure without the use of pyrazole was used to produce physical dependence on ethanol in Sprague-Dawley rats. During this 10-day period, weight changes in the control animals reflected the weight changes in the ethanoltreated animals. At the end of the inhalation procedure the rate of ethanol clearance from the blood was 0.44 ± 0.2 mg/ml/hr in the dependent animals; also, signs of withdrawal were manifested in all ethanol vapor-treated animals, but not in control animals. Twenty-four hours after removal from the chamber, a 5-day drinking study was started. Control animals and physically dependent animals were each divided into two groups, one for diazepam (5 mg/ kg, orally) administration and one for vehicle administration. The results from the free-choice drinking study (water and ethanol solution, 7%) indicated that diazepam did not enhance ethanol consumption in animals which were physically dependent on ethanol but significantly suppressed ethanol drinking in nondependent animals. Also when examining the effect of physical dependence alone on postwithdrawal drinking, it appeared that no increase in ethanol preference was observed with animals under our experimental design.