P-22 - Benzodiazepine (phenazepam) and caffeine pharmacological action on the emotional state changes the ethanol preference in male vistar rats

Abstract

It was shown earlier that not only baseline anxiety level is significant for alcoholism forming but its direction changes during forced alcoholization process. The goal of this study was the investigation of the anxiety change influence on ethanol preference forming under pharmacological (caffeine and benzodiazepine phenazepam) action on emotional state in 60 male Vistar rats. In four groups during 4 experimental months the 1 st group had the access only to 10% ethanol solution, the 2 nd one- only to10% ethanol with 0.4 g/l caffeine solution, the 3d one - only to10% ethanol with 0,0005 g/l phenazepam, the 4 th (control) group had only water. The behavioral parameters were estimated by the “Open field” test before, after 4 weeks and in the end of the experiment. Alcohol preference was measured by the “Two-bottle” test before and every four experimental week. It was observed that motor activity decrease is positively correlated with the lack of alcohol preference. Stress reaction individual characteristics are very important for alcohol preference forming. The anxiety level has increased in nonprefering alcohol rats consuming both ethanol and ethanol with caffeine solutions. Alcohol preferring rats compensate the stressful conditions of forced alcoholization by anxiolytic ethanol action. Alcohol preferring rats consuming ethanol together with phenazepam have demonstrated the anxiety level increase and high indexes of behavioral activity. In contrast, nonprefering alcohol rats have demonstrated еру anxiety level decrease and low behavioral activity. It is supposed that two baseline mechanisms of stress reaction type such as excitation and suppression underline this phenomenon.