Effect of Drinking Schedule upon Alcohol Preference in Mice

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Abstract
The experiment was carried out to determine whether genetic variations in free-choice alcohol preference might depend on the postingestional effects of alcohol. The subjects were 36 mice, 10 wk old, 12 from each of the following strains C57BL/6J (alcohol preferring), DBA/2J (alcohol avoiding) and their F1 hybrids (moderate preference). The mice were first allowed access to water for only 15 min. a day for a week; then 6 were allowed a choice of water or an 8% (v/v) alcohol solution during 1 5-min period daily (condition A), and 6 were allowed 5 1-min periods 1 hr. apart with the same fluid choice (condition B). After 5 days the mice were allowed water freely for 2 days, returned to scheduled drinking of water for 7 days, then tested for preference an additional 5 days, the groups being reversed. Fluid consumption was measured by a drinkometer recording the number of licks at each tube; 100 licks yielded approximately 0.3 ml of liquid. The mean number of licks averaged about 100/min over both experimental conditions and in all groups. The number of licks of the C57BL/6 and F1 mice did not differ between the 2 experimental conditions but those of the DBA/2 mice were lower during condition A (78 licks/min) than during condition B (133 licks/min). A computed alcohol preference score fell in all groups during condition A but remained constant during condition B. Alcohol preference was higher in the C57BL/6 and F1 mice than in the DBA/2. The results suggest that aversion is generated by unpleasant post-ingestional effects of alcohol when drinking is forcibly restricted to a single brief period. The effect was transitory, however; after 9 days on water only, the mice returned to their characteristic unadapted preference.

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