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Review
. 1997;21(2):169-76.

The neurobiology of alcoholism in genetically selected rat models

R B Stewart  1 , T K Li
Affiliations
Review

The neurobiology of alcoholism in genetically selected rat models

R B Stewart et al. Alcohol Health Res World. 1997.

Abstract

Rats selectively bred for their tendency to drink large or small quantities of alcohol are a useful model for investigators examining the possible neurobiological processes underlying alcoholism. Studies with the alcohol-preferring (P) and alcohol-nonpreferring (NP) and the high-alcohol-drinking (HAD) and low-alcohol-drinking (LAD) pairs of rat lines developed at Indiana University have illustrated differences in several behavioral and neurobiological characteristics associated with alcohol consumption. Specifically, compared with alcohol-avoiding rats, rats with an affinity for alcohol have a greater sensitivity to the stimulatory effects of low to moderate doses and a reduced sensitivity to the negative effects of high doses. Rats that voluntarily drink large quantities of alcohol also acquire tolerance to alcohol's aversive effects. In addition, these rats differ from their alcohol-avoiding counterparts in the levels of several chemical mediators (i.e., neurotransmitters) found in the brain, including serotonin, dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and the endogenous opioids.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean free-choice alcohol consumption (grams of alcohol per kilogram [g/kg] of body weight per day) by recent generations of selectively bred alcohol-preferring (P) and -nonpreferring (NP) rat lines. Males and females of both lines show similar rates of alcohol consumption.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A female alcohol-preferring (P) rat presses a lever in an operant chamber. Each time the lever is pressed, 0.1 milliliter of alcohol solution is delivered into a well to the right of the lever. P rats work to obtain alcohol solutions at concentrations as high as 40 percent (the typical concentration of unmixed hard liquors, such as straight whiskeys). Photograph by Maggie Johann Stewart
Figure 3
Figure 3
Volume of water (open circles) and concurrently available 10-percent alcohol solution (closed circles) consumed by 18 alcohol-preferring rats during 32 days of chronic alcohol drinking. Data shown are averages for consecutive 2-day periods. The increase in alcohol intake over successive days in these rats is consistent with the development of tolerance.
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