Chunk #56 — 5. Procedures for evaluating pharmacological treatments targeting alcohol abuse and dependence — 5.2. Acquisition of ethanol drinking in the home-cage
and food intake in those animals showing the greatest reductions in ethanol intake. This latter finding suggests that the adipsic effects of naltrexone were specific for ethanol consumption. In another study from our laboratory, the effects of MDL72222, a 5-HT3 antagonist, were evaluated during the initial 7 days of ethanol access in adolescent male P rats (J.A. Schultz, personal communication). Again, ethanol intake was reduced dose-dependently (1 and 2 mg/kg consistently reduced 24-h intake across the 7 days, but 0.5 mg/kg reduced intake only transiently after the second day of treatment) during the acquisition of ethanol intake by these rats. Unfortunately, in both of these studies ethanol intake increased to control levels shortly after the removal of the drug. Nevertheless, delaying the onset of alcohol abuse in adolescent individuals may reduce the risk of developing alcohol use disorders (AUDs) later in life. This contention stems from research indicating that an early onset of alcohol abuse is associated with a significantly greater risk for developing alcohol dependence during an individual’s lifetime (Anthony and Petronis, 1995; Chou and Pickering, 1992; Grant and Dawson, 1997; Hingson et al., 2006).
