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SFN 2005 Abstracts
OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY, PORTLAND, OR
ETHANOL DRINKING PATTERNS IN C57BL/6J MICE DURING ACQUISTION AND FOLLOWING EXPERIMENTER HANDLING
M.M. Ford2, J.S. Rhodes2, J.C. Crabbe1,2 and D.A. Finn1,2.
VAMC Research1 and Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience2, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239
The C57BL/6J (B6) mouse is commonly used to evaluate the role of environmental and pharmacological manipulations on self-administration behavior due to the high intakes it achieves. One shortcoming in the design of typical drinking studies is the reliance upon total ethanol intake (g/kg) as the sole quantitative measure of consumption. The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) determine whether stable total intake during acquisition is predictive of established drinking patterns, and 2) characterize the impact of handling and an acute systemic injection on drinking patterns. Male and female B6 mice were acclimated to a reverse light/dark schedule and given 2-hr limited access to a single bottle containing 20% v/v ethanol (20E) beginning 3 hrs into the dark phase. Mice were individually housed in lickometer chambers that permitted the collection of cumulative lick records for the 20E solution. Following a 4-day assessment of acquisition, mice were split into 3 groups: control (non-handled), weighed/handled, and weighed/handled plus saline injection. Total intakes across the 4 acquisition sessions varied by 12% or less from the initial 2-hr access. However, lick rates incrementally increased by up to 82% across sessions versus the initial session. Weighing and lightly handling the mice evoked a 20% elevation in total intake that was primarily attributable to a corresponding 18% increase in bout frequency. In contrast, an acute injection attenuated intake by 16%, a change that was associated with a 32% and a 62% suppression of mean bout size and bout length, respectively. In summary, these findings indicate that although stability of total intake is rapidly acquired and maintained, establishment of consistent drinking patterns develops over a longer period, which could confound the interpretation of pharmacological and environmental manipulations. Supported by: The Dept. of Veterans Affairs and grants AA13478, AA13519, and AA15234.
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