Differences in ethanol drinking between mice selected for high and low swim stress-induced analgesia

• Published in: Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) Vol. 42; no. 6; pp. 487 - 492
• Main Authors: Sacharczuk, Mariusz, Juszczak, Grzegorz, Sliwa, Adam T, Tymosiak-Zielinska, Agnieszka, Lisowski, Pawel, Jaszczak, Kazimierz, Pluta, Ryszard, Lipkowski, Andrzej, Sadowski, Bogdan, Swiergiel, Artur H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.09.2008; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Alcohol Drinking - genetics; Alcohol Drinking - psychology; Alcoholism; Analgesia - psychology; Animals; Breeding of animals; Chronic mild stress; Drinking water; Eating; Ethanol; Ethanol dependence; Experiments; Laboratory animals; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Opioid system; Psychiatry; Receptors, Opioid - physiology; Selected mouse lines; Stress; Stress, Physiological - physiopathology; Studies; Swim stress-induced analgesia; Swimming; Chronic mild stress; Opioid system; Swim stress-induced analgesia; Selected mouse lines; Ethanol dependence
• ISSN: 0741-8329; 1873-6823
• DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2008.05.006

Abstract Alcoholism is a complex disorder, still not fully understood, in which environmental and inherited risk factors play essential roles. Of particular importance may be chronic exposure to stress thought to increase preference for ethanol in genetically susceptible individuals. Animal and human data suggest that the opioid system may be involved in the development of alcohol dependence. We studied the effects of chronic mild stress (CMS) on the voluntary intake of 8% ethanol in the mouse lines displaying high (HA) or low (LA) swim stress-induced analgesia. These lines differ in the activity of the endogenous opioid system. Normally, 8% ethanol is aversive to rodents. We found that LA mice with the low opioid system activity exposed to CMS manifested greater ethanol intake than under no stress conditions. No such effect of CMS on ethanol consumption was observed in HA mice that display the enhanced opioid system activity. We conclude that CMS imposed on individuals with a genetically determined low opioid activity may favor the development of ethanol abuse.