Behavioral assessments in a social drinker model in Wistar rats

Abstract

 In recent years the importance of the study of the characteristics inherent to the stages that lead to alcoholism has been pointed out. The scarcity of these studies is a controversial factor since the development of models that encompass the relevance of these stages could be extremely important in the search for the “critical point” in which the moment in which an individual in advanced stages of the process can be identified addiction can develop alcoholism, or in which a social drinker becomes a risky drinker, merely based on the particularity of the behavioral changes that he presents. The present work has as objective to evaluate the behavioral affectations related to the neuronal state in a model of social drinker in Wistar rats which were distributed in 2 Control groups (Water) and Ethanol group that was administered by the cash-home method “ad libitum”At different concentrations (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%.) 2 times a week for seven weeks. The Morris Water Labyrinth, the Elevated Cross Labyrinth and the Irwin Test were applied. The model developed mimics the behavior of social drinkers in humans in terms of ethanol consumption. It was concluded that there were affectations related to the state of anxiety in the Elevated Labyrinth in Cruz in addition to an incipient affectation of the dopaminergic transmission by means of the Irwin test and the consumption of ethanol, there being no affectation of the memory measured in the Aquatic labyrinth of Morris. These results indicate the incipient neuronal imbalance that characterizes the social drinker.