Abstract
Background: Flavorant-fading procedures can initiate and maintain oral ethanol intake in rodents. The present study developed a similar procedure to achieve controlled and behaviorally relevant levels of ethanol intake in monkeys. Methods: Male rhesus macaques (N = 13) were initially given the opportunity to consume 0.5 g/kg of a 1% (w/v) ethanol plus 4% (w/v) Tang solution in 1-hr limited-access sessions without the requirement of an operant response. Once consumption was stable at a particular concentration (%) and/or amount (g/kg), animals were given access to higher concentrations and/or amounts of ethanol. Animals were tested on a bimanual motor skill (BMS) task 20 and 90 min after consumption to assess behavioral impairment. Blood alcohol levels (BALS) were assessed after a session in which animals had the opportunity to consume up to 3.0 g/kg of 6% (w/v) ethanol. Results: The gradual fading up of higher concentrations and amounts of ethanol resulted in controlled and robust levels (>2.0 g/kg) of ethanol intake in half of the subjects. Increasing the concentration of the sweetener from 4 to 6% (w/v) was effective in initiating consumption in three animals. Two monkeys required the additional step of presenting the increased-sweetener solutions after a meal (postprandial consumption) to initiate significant ethanol intake. Animals were significantly impaired on the BMS task after consumption of 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 g/kg of ethanol. Individual consumption ranging from 0.8 to 3.0 g/kg of ethanol produced BALs of 18 to 269 mg/dl. Conclusions: The flavorant-fading procedure was effective in producing behaviorally relevant levels of ethanol consumption in rhesus macaques. This model facilitated a randomized-dose procedure to determine the behavioral effects of 0.5 to 3.0 g/kg of ethanol. This procedure therefore is of significant utility in determining behavioral or physiologic effects of specific doses of consumed ethanol in monkeys.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 873-883 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Alcohol
- Ethanol
- Nonhuman primate
- Rhesus macaque
- Self-administration
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Toxicology
- Psychiatry and Mental health