Skip to main content
Log in

Chronic alcohol consumption in alcohol-preferring P rats attenuates subsequent conditioned taste aversion produced by ethanol injections

  • Original Investigations
  • Published:
Psychopharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Rats of the P line were tested for the development of tolerance to the aversive effects of ethanol during 33 days of continuous availability of food, water and a 10% (v/v) ethanol solution. Beginning on the day following the removal of ethanol, five daily conditioned taste aversion (CTA) trials were administered to the ethanol-drinking P rats and an ethanol-naive control group. The CTA trials consisted of a 20-min access to a Polycose solution, followed by IP injection of saline, 0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 g ethanol/kg. The ethanol-drinking rats developed a preference for the Polycose solution when it was paired with 0.5 g ethanol injections, but the control rats did not. Both control and ethanol groups had similar CTAs at the 1.5 g dose. However, at the 1.0 g dose, the ethanol group had an attenuated CTA compared with the water control group. The results suggest that P rats develop tolerance to aversive effects of ethanol during chronic drinking. This tolerance could contribute to the high ethanol intake in these selectively-bred rats.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Berman RF, Cannon DS (1974) The effect of prior ethanol experience on ethanol-induced saccharin aversions. Physiol Behav 12:1041–1044

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cannon DS, Baker TB, Berman RF (1977) Taste aversion disruption by drug pretreatment: dissociative and drug-specific effects. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 6:93–100

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cappell H, LeBlanc AE (1975) Conditioned aversion by psychoactive drugs: Does it have significance for an understanding of drug dependence? Addict Behav 1:55–64

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cappell H, Poulos CX (1979) Associative factors in drug pretreatment effects on gustatory conditioning: cross-drug effects. Psychopharmacology 64:209–213

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cappell H, LeBlanc AE, Herling S (1975) Modification of the punishing effects of psychoactive drugs in rats by previous drug experience. J Comp Physiol Psychol 89:347–356

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cloninger CR (1987) Neurogenetic adaptive mechanisms in alcoholism. Science 236:410–416

    Google Scholar 

  • Froehlich JC, Harts J, Lumeng L, Li T-K (1988) Differences in response to the aversive properties of ethanol in rats selectively bred for oral ethanol preference. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 31:215–222

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Froehlich JC, Stewart R, Kurtz D, Zweifel M, Lumeng L, Li T-K (1989) Genetic differences in hypothermic effects of ethanol. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 13:306

    Google Scholar 

  • Gatto GJ, Murphy JM, Waller MB, McBride WJ, Lumeng L, Li T-K (1987) Chronic ethanol tolerance through free-choice drinking in the P line of alcohol-preferring rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 28:111–115

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gatto GJ, Murphy JM, McBride WJ, Lumeng L, Li T-K (1990) Effects of fluoxetine and desipramine on palatability-induced ethanol consumption in the alcohol-nonpreferring (NP) line of rats. Alcohol 7:531–536

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kurtz D, Stewart R, Zweifel M, Li T-K, Froehlich JC (1990) Genetic differences in tolerance and sensitization to the sedative/hyponotic effects of ethanol. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 14:307

    Google Scholar 

  • Lester D, Freed EX (1973) Criteria for an animal model of alcoholism. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 1:103–107

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lester D, Nachman M, LeMagnen J (1970) Aversive conditioning by ethanol in the rat. Q J Stud Alcohol 31:578–586

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li T-K, Lumeng L, McBride WJ, Murphy JM (1987) Rodent lines selected for factors affecting alcohol consumption. Alcohol Alcohol Suppl 1:91–96

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lumeng L, Li T-K (1986) The development of metabolic tolerance in the alcohol-preferring P rats: comparison of forced and free-choice drinking of ethanol. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 25:1013–1020

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lumeng L, Hawkins TD, Li T-K (1977) New strains of rats with alcohol preference and nonpreference. In: Thurman RG, Williamson JR, Drott H, Chance B (eds) Alcohol and aldehyde metabolizing systems, vol 3. Academic Press, New York, pp 537–544

    Google Scholar 

  • Marfaing-Jallat P, LeMagnen J (1979) Ethanol-induced taste aversion in ethanol-dependent and normal rats. Behav Neural Biol 26:106–114

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy JM, Gatto GJ, McBride WJ, Lumeng L, Li T-K (1989) Operant responding for oral ethanol in the alcohol-preferring P and alcohol-nonpreferring NP lines of rats. Alcohol 6:127–131

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy JM, Gatto GJ, Waller MB, McBride WJ, Lumeng L, Li T-K (1986) Effects of scheduled access on ethanol intake by alcohol-preferring (P) line of rats. Alcohol 3:331–336

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy JM, Waller MB, Gatto GJ, McBride WJ, Lumeng L, Li T-K (1988) Effects of fluoxetine on the intragastric self-administration of ethanol in the alcohol preferring P line of rats. Alcohol 5:283–286

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parker L, Failor A, Weidman K (1973) Conditioned preferences in the rat with an unnatural need state: morphine withdrawal. J Comp Physiol Psychol 82:294–300

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Penn PE, McBride WJ, Lumeng L, Gaff TM, Li T-K (1978) Neurochemical and operant behavioral studies of a strain of alcohol-preferring rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 8:475–481

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Poulos CX, Cappell H (1979) An associative analysis of pretreatment effects in gustatory conditioning by amphetamine. Psychopharmacology 64:201–207

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rabin BM, Hunt WA, Lee J (1989) Attenuation and cross-attenuation in taste aversion learning in the rat: Studies with ionizing radiation, lithium choride and ethanol. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 31:909–918

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riley V (1960) Adaptation of orbital bleeding techniques to rapid serial blood studies. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 104:751–754

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sclafani A, Clyne AE (1987) Hedonic response of rats to polysaccharide and sugar solutions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 11:173–180

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman JE, Hickis CF, Rice AG, Rusiniak KW, Garcia J (1983) Preferences and aversions for stimuli paired with ethanol in hungry rats. Anim Learn Behav 11:101–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Waller MB, McBride WJ, Lumeng L, Li T-K (1982) Induction of dependence on ethanol by free-choice drinking in alcohol-preferring rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 16:501–507

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waller MB, McBride WJ, Gatto GJ, Lumeng L, Li T-K (1984) Intragastric self-administration of ethanol by ethanol-preferring and -nonpreferring lines of rats. Science 225:78–80

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Stewart, R.B., McBride, W.J., Lumeng, L. et al. Chronic alcohol consumption in alcohol-preferring P rats attenuates subsequent conditioned taste aversion produced by ethanol injections. Psychopharmacology 105, 530–534 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02244375

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02244375

Key words

Navigation