CROSS-DEPENDENCE BETWEEN PHENOBARBITAL AND ALCOHOL IN RATS

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Abstract
When morphine, codeine or phenobarbital was admixed in a regular diet and given to male rats weighing 120-130 g, a physical dependence resulted in 7 days. Substitution tests were feasible in the phenobarbital dependent animals. Phenobarbital was substituted for alcohol and vice versa in rats dependent on either drug. Body weight [BW] changes 3 days after the beginning of the withdrawal of phenobarbital, alcohol and both drugs. In animals given phenobarbital alone (G-1), phenobarbital withdrawal resulted in a decrease in BW. In animals given both phenobarbital and alcohol (G-2), a decrease in BW occurred following the phenobarbital withdrawal. When both drugs were withdrawn, the decrease in BW was significantly enhanced. During the withdrawal period, pattern of change in the amount of food ingested was similar to that of BW changes. On the contrary, only phenobarbital withdrawal resulted in the inhibition of this syndrome. During the phenobarbital withdrawal, intake of 10% vol/vol alcohol solution increased, while during the alcohol withdrawal, intake of phenobarbital 2 mg/g food also increased. A cross-dependence between phenobarbital and alcohol can be produced in rats by a combined treatment with these 2 drugs and such an approach may be useful for substitution tests between barbiturates and alcohol.