Abstract
We have applied the electroshock-induced fighting behavior to the study of experimental alcohol dependence. Adult Wistar rats were intoxicated chronically with ethanol (10 g/kg/24 h) for 13 days. Electroshock-induced fighting behavior was studied during chronic intoxication and withdrawal in comparison with normal rats receiving a water-carbohydrate solution isocaloric to ethanol. Rats were divided into groups receiving respectively muscimol (0.25 mg/kg), a GABAA agonist; homotaurine (140 mg/kg) a GABA mimetic; and physiological saline (10 ml/kg), intraperitoneally. During chronic intoxication, rats showed an increase in defensive-fighting behavior. Withdrawal accentuated the aggressive behavior and muscimol and homotaurine inhibited it. These results confirm the relevance of the electroshock-induced defensive fighting behavior test in chronic intoxication with alcohol, but to show the involvement of GABAergic transmission in the behavioral effects of alcohol withdrawal, additional experiments with other GABA mimetics and with GABA antagonists should be considered.
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