Prolonged Alcohol Consumption in the Rat. 1. Acquisition and Extinction of a Bar-Pressing Response

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Abstract
Three experiments were reported on the effects of prolonged alcohol consumption over a period of 5 months upon the acquisition and extinction of a learned bar-pressing response using food reward. The experimental groups consisted of rats receiving either 5% or 10% ethyl alcohol in their drinking water, a group of untreated controls, and a group which received daily injection of 0.1 ml. of a 1.5% solution of formaldehyde. This last group served as a stress control since prolonged alcohol consumption may act as a generalized stressor. In the first experiment (n=3 per group) the animals first learned the response after which they received the drug treatment. The rats were tested daily for 20 weeks after which response was extinguished. Though tested in individual units, the animals could hear the sound of the food dispensing mechanisms of the other units; this was defined as a "group" testing situation. The second experiment (n=4 per group) was identical with the first one except that none of the rats could hear the responses made by the other animals. In the third experiment (n=4 per group) the animals were first placed upon drug treatment and, 74 days later, were trained to bar-press. This was followed by extinction trials. No significant differences were found among the groups in the first two experiments either for response rates or for extinction. The group testing situation significantly enhanced the rate of response but did not affect extinction. In the third experiment it was found that the animals receiving 5% or 10% alcohol were rtot significantly different, but both of these groups acquired the response at a significantly slower rate than did the control rats. In all three experiments the formaldehyde group had scores similar to the alcohol animals.

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