While nicotine–induced sensitization has been widely studied, motor stimulant effects of ethanol have generally received less attention. The development of sensitization to ethanol is predominantly shown in mice. Similar to nicotine-induced locomotor activity, mice were pre-treated with ethanol injections (1.5–2.5 g/kg, i.p) for 7–10 days. Following this exposure, they were challenged with a single injection of ethanol after a period of withdrawal (7–30 days). Results indicated the mice were significantly more sensitive to the locomotor stimulating effects of ethanol during this challenge session and this effect lasted up to 29 days following termination of ethanol administration (Lessov and Phillips, 1998; Itzhak and Martin, 2000; Fish et al., 2002). Under similar circumstances, stimulation of locomotor activity by ethanol consuming rats has also been reported (Hoshaw and Lewis, 2001).
