Effect of Ethanol Deprivation and Re-Exposure on the Ethanol Drinking Behaviour of the High-Alcohol-Drinker (UChB) Rats

Lutske Tampier,Maria Elena Quintanilla

doi:10.4236/jbbs.2011.11001

Abstract

Alcohol addiction constitutes a major health problem in the general population, it is a complex pathology characterized by the development of tolerance, physical dependence and compulsive ethanol-seeking behaviour that often manifests as a chronic relapsing syndrome. 0ne of the major concerns in the treatment of alcohol-dependent patients is the prevention of relapse during periods of abstinence. The alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) is defined as a temporary increase in the voluntary intake of ethanol when it is reinstated after a period of alcohol deprivation and has been used as an animal model of relapse-like drinking. ADE can be used to evaluate the efficacy of possible pharmacological agents to prevent relapse drinking. The current study was undertaken to examine whether the high-alcohol-drinker UChB rats would display an ADE. Rats were given either continuous or periodic concurrent access to 10, 20% (vol/vol) of ethanol across deprivation cycles. UChB rats consuming ethanol voluntarily for two months, exhibit a robust ADE after a single deprivation period of two weeks. The increased alcohol intake during the early days of re-exposure, following a withdrawal phase, is attributed to a shift in preference towards the higher concentration of ethanol that might reflect an increase in craving for alcohol. Since an ADE is also observed in UChB rats, make this line of rats selectively bred for their high voluntary ethanol consumption, a useful model for study the efficacy of pharmacological agents for the treatment of relapse of alcohol consumption.

Highlights

Addiction can be best defined as the loss of control over drug use
Alcohol addiction (Alcoholism) constitutes a major health problem in the general population, it is a complex pathology characterized by the development of tolerance, physical dependence and compulsive ethanol-seeking behaviour that often manifests as a chronic relapsing syndrome
These various stages of alcohol drinking occur in humans, it is not clear whether those transitions in alcohol drinking from one stage to another can be observed in all animals with a high preference and a high daily intake of alcohol Various approaches have been used to evaluate the occurrence of addictive behaviour in laboratory animals; most of them based on changes in the amount of alcohol intake following a period of abstinence and a shift of preference towards higher concentration of ethanol solutions [1]

Summary

Introduction

Addiction can be best defined as the loss of control over drug use. It is caused by the action of a drug of abuse and generally requires repeated drug exposure. The initiation or acquisition of alcohol drinking, followed by a second stage of controlled alcohol-drinking behaviour and eventually a third stage where uncontrolled alcohol-drinking behaviour occurs, leading to the development of dependence, which has been characterized as an progressive dysregulation of brain reward and stress circuits [2,3] These various stages of alcohol drinking occur in humans, it is not clear whether those transitions in alcohol drinking from one stage to another can be observed in all animals with a high preference and a high daily intake of alcohol Various approaches have been used to evaluate the occurrence of addictive behaviour in laboratory animals; most of them based on changes in the amount of alcohol intake following a period of abstinence and a shift of preference towards higher concentration of ethanol solutions [1]. The alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) has been proposed as a model of “loss of control” and JBBS

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