Suppression of acquisition of alcohol-drinking behavior by the concurrent availability of saccharin in Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) rats

Exposure to an enriched environment reduces alcohol self-administration in Sardinian alcohol-preferring rats

Living in an enriched environment (EE) produces a notable impact on several rodent behaviors, including those motivated by drugs of abuse. This picture is somewhat less clear when referring to alcohol-motivated behaviors. With the intent of contributing to this research field with data from one of the few rat lines selectively bred for excessive alcohol consumption, the present study investigated the effect of EE on operant oral alcohol self-administration in Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) rats. Starting from Postnatal Day (PND) 21, male sP rats were kept under 3 different housing conditions: impoverished environment (IE; single housing in shoebox-like cages with no environmental enrichment); standard environment (SE; small colony cages with 3 rats and no environmental enrichment); EE (large colony cages with 6 rats and multiple elements of environmental enrichment, including 2 floors, ladders, maze, running wheels, and shelter). From PND 60, rats were exposed to different phases of shaping and training of alcohol self-administration. IE, SE, and EE rats were then compared under (i) fixed ratio (FR) 4 (FR4) schedule of alcohol reinforcement for 20 daily sessions and (ii) progressive ratio (PR) schedule of alcohol reinforcement in a final single session. Acquisition of the lever-responding task (shaping) was slower in EE than IE and SE rats, as the likely consequence of a "devaluation" of the novel stimuli provided by the operant chamber in comparison to those to which EE rats were continuously exposed in their homecage or an alteration, induced by EE, of the rat "emotionality" state when facing the novel environment represented by the operant chamber. Training of alcohol self-administration was slower in EE than IE rats, with SE rats displaying intermediate values. A similar ranking order (IE>SE>EE) was also observed in number of lever-responses for alcohol, amount of self-administered alcohol, and breakpoint for alcohol under FR4 and PR schedules of reinforcement. These data suggest that living in a complex environment reduced the reinforcing and motivational properties of alcohol in sP rats. These results are interpreted in terms of the reinforcing and motivational properties of the main components of EE (i.e., social interactions, physical activities, exploration, novelty) substituting, at least partially, for those of alcohol.

Increase in alcohol intake, reduced flexibility of alcohol drinking, and evidence of signs of alcohol intoxication in Sardinian alcohol-preferring rats exposed to intermittent access to 20% alcohol

BACKGROUND

This study assessed in Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) rats a procedure known to promote alcohol drinking and based on the intermittent (once every other day) access to 2 bottles containing alcohol (20%, v/v) and water, respectively (Wise, 1973).

METHODS

To this end, sP rats were exposed - under the 2-bottle choice regimen - to: (i) 10% (v/v) alcohol with continuous access (CA10%; i.e., the procedure under which sP rats had been selectively bred); (ii) 10% (v/v) alcohol with intermittent access (IA10%); (iii) 20% (v/v) alcohol with continuous access (CA20%); (iv) 20% (v/v) alcohol with intermittent access (IA20%; the "Wise" condition) (Experiment 1). Additional experiments assessed the influence of (i) adulteration with quinine of the alcohol solution (Experiment 2) and (ii) concurrent presentation of a saccharin solution (Experiment 3) on alcohol drinking under the CA10% and IA20% conditions. Finally, it was assessed whether alcohol drinking under the CA10% and IA20% conditions resulted in motor incoordination at the Rota-Rod task, as a possible sign of alcohol intoxication (Experiment 4).

RESULTS

Daily alcohol intake markedly escalated in rats exposed to the IA20% condition, averaging 9.0 g/kg (in comparison with the average intake of 6.5 g/kg in the CA10% rat group). CA20% and IA10% rats displayed intermediate values of daily alcohol intake between those of CA10% and IA20% rats. Alcohol intake was virtually abolished by addition of quinine or by concurrent presentation of the saccharin solution in CA10% rats; conversely, alcohol intake in IA20% rats was only partially affected by gustatory aversion or concurrent presentation of an alternative reinforcer. Finally, alcohol intake in IA20%, but not in CA10%, rats resulted in clear motor-incoordinating effects.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that the "Wise" procedure is effective in inducing marked increases in alcohol intake in sP rats. These increases are associated with a reduced flexibility of alcohol drinking (suggesting the development of "behavioral" dependence) and produce signs of alcohol intoxication that are not detected when sP rats are exposed to the more conventional CA10% condition.

Effect of concurrent saccharin intake on ethanol consumption by high-alcohol-drinking (UChB) rats

This study examined the effect of concurrent presentation of a highly palatable saccharin solution on ethanol consumption during the acquisition or maintenance of ethanol drinking by high-alcohol-drinking (UChB) rats. Rats were exposed to ethanol (10% v/v) and water under a home cage, two-bottle, free-choice regimen with unlimited access for 24 hours/day. After 7 days (acquisition) of ethanol exposure, a third bottle containing saccharin (0.2% w/v) was concomitantly offered for an additional seven consecutive days, and the same process was repeated after 3 months (maintenance) of ethanol exposure. We found that concurrent saccharin intake significantly reduced ethanol intake by UChB rats after 7 days of ethanol exposure indicating that preference for sweet taste tends to override the preference for ethanol. However, the concurrent saccharin presentation to rats after 3 months of stable ethanol consumption did not reduce ethanol intake, whereas their saccharin consumption reached polydipsic-like values. These results support the notion that in UChB rats, a time-dependent sensitization to the rewarding effects of ethanol is developed that may account for the increases in ethanol volition seen following chronic ethanol intake.

Effects of alcohol and saccharin deprivations on concurrent ethanol and saccharin operant self-administration by alcohol-preferring (P) rats

Consumption of sweet solutions has been associated with a reduction in withdrawal symptoms and alcohol craving in humans. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of ethanol and saccharin (SACC) deprivations on operant oral self-administration. Alcohol-preferring (P) rats were allowed to lever press concurrently self-administer ethanol (15% vol/vol) and SACC (0.0125% g/vol) for 8 weeks. Rats were then maintained on daily operant access (nondeprived), deprived of both fluids (2 weeks), deprived of SACC and given 2 ml of ethanol daily, or deprived of ethanol and given 2 ml of SACC daily. All groups were then given 2 weeks of daily operant access to ethanol and SACC, followed by an identical second deprivation period. P rats responded more for ethanol than SACC. All deprived groups increased responding on the ethanol lever, but not on the SACC lever. Daily consumption of 2 ml ethanol decreased the duration of the alcohol deprivation effect (ADE). Home cage access to 2 ml of SACC also decreased the ADE but to a lesser extent than access to ethanol. A second deprivation period further increased and prolonged the expression of an ADE. These results show ethanol is a more salient reinforcer than SACC. With concurrent access to ethanol and SACC, P rats do not display a saccharin deprivation effect. Depriving P rats of both ethanol and SACC had the most pronounced effect on the magnitude and duration of the ADE, suggesting that there may be some interactions between ethanol and SACC in their CNS reinforcing effects.

Suppression of maintenance of alcohol-drinking behavior by the concurrent availability of saccharin in Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) rats

In the current study, we investigated the effect of the concurrent presentation of saccharin on the maintenance of alcohol-drinking behavior in selectively bred Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) rats. Rats were initially given access to alcohol [10% (volume/volume) in water] and water under the home cage, two-bottle, free-choice regimen, with unlimited access for 24 h/day for eight consecutive weeks. Next, a third bottle, containing saccharin [0%, 0.01%, 0.1%, 1%, or 3% (weight/volume) in water], was concomitantly offered for an additional 10 consecutive days. Intake of saccharin solution resulted as an inverted-U function of saccharin concentration, with the 0.1% saccharin solution being the highest accepted. Alcohol intake was a U function of saccharin concentration, being reduced by 65%-95% in the group of rats exposed to the 0.1% saccharin solution. These results indicate that (1) the concurrent presentation of highly palatable solutions of saccharin markedly reduced alcohol intake in alcohol-experienced sP rats and (2) the reducing effect of saccharin solutions on the alcohol intake in sP rats was positively related to their degree of acceptability. We hypothesized that saccharin solutions may have functioned as a reinforcer, partially substituting for alcohol reinforcement and rendering alcohol drinking less urgent.