Influence of Stress on Alcohol Intoxication in Rats

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Abstract
The influence of stress on alcohol intoxication in the rat was studied. Various doses of alcohol (3.6, 4.5 and 5.0 mg per g per os; 2.0 mg per g intraperitoneally) were administered. The rats were then forced to swim with a weight attached to the tail and the level of their intoxication was tested by the tilted-plane method. The number of rats in the several test groups varied between 5 and 20. The intoxication level of the stressed rats was much lower than that of the unstressed controls. When the alcohol was administered orally, the blood alcohol, too, was lower in the stressed than in the unstressed animals; after intraperitoneal injection the blood alcohol level was the same in stressed and unstressed animals. The stressed rats, however, were less intoxicated than the unstressed animals with corresponding blood alcohol levels. With intraperitoneal administration of alcohol, at the same blood alcohol level 90 min. after the injection, the degree of intoxication of the stressed animals was only about 40 per cent of that of the unstressed controls. It was also observed that already intoxicated rats could suddenly recover when subjected to the swimming stress; this recovery, however, was only temporary. No convincing explanation for the intoxication-diminishing effect of stress can as yet be given. As a possible explanation the influence of adrenal hormones, released during stress, is suggested.