The method of initial exposure to ethanol can alter future drinking patterns in rats (Files et al., 1997). Ethanol consumption during adolescence appears to have no effect on subsequent ethanol intake in adulthood (Slawecki and Betancourt, 2002; Tolliver and Samson, 1991; Vetter et al., 2007). Adolescent rats voluntarily consume more ethanol relative to adults (Truxell et al., 2007) when animals were allowed voluntary access to ethanol under continuous access conditions (Brunell and Spear, 2005; Doremus et al., 2005; Vetter et al., 2007). The same effect was observed using a modified sucrose-substitution paradigm under limited access conditions (Maldonado, Finkbeiner, Alipour and Kirstein, 2008).
