| Abstract: | Experiments on random-bred rats were made to study the relationship between the duration of ethanol anesthesia and the time course of alcohol consumption for 8 months. Short-sleeping rats with ethanol anesthesia lasting less than 90 minutes exhibited initially high and steady alcoholic motivation. Meanwhile long-sleeping rats with ethanol anesthesia lasting over 175 minutes demonstrated high level of alcoholic motivation only under stressful conditions. After 8 months of keeping in isolated cages long-sleeping rats demonstrated the same intensity and steadiness of alcoholic motivation as was the case in short-sleeping animals. Long-sleeping rats differed from short-sleeping ones in hypersensitivity to the toxic action of ethanol. It is inferred that in random-bred rats, there are at least two forms of experimental alcoholism. |
