Operant alcohol self-administration in dependent rats: focus on the vapor model.

ABSTRACT: Alcoholism (alcohol dependence) is characterized by a compulsion to seek and ingest alcohol (ethanol), loss of control over intake, and the emergence of a negative emotional state during withdrawal. Animal models are critical in promoting our knowledge of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying alcohol dependence. Here, we review the studies involving operant alcohol self-administration in rat models of alcohol dependence and withdrawal with the focus on the alcohol vapor model. In 1996, the first articles were published reporting that rats made dependent on alcohol by exposure to alcohol vapors displayed increased operant alcohol self-administration during acute withdrawal compared with nondependent rats (i.e., not exposed to alcohol vapors). Since then, it has been repeatedly demonstra

SUBMITTER: Vendruscolo LF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4007394 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature