Effects of concentration of ethanol injected intraperitoneally on taste aversion, body temperature, and activity.

Levels of ethanol-induced conditioned taste aversion and hypothermia were found to be directly related to the concentration of fixed amounts of ethanol injected i.p. in a range of doses (1.0--1.8 g/kg) and concentrations (8--32% v/v) commonly used in behavioral studies. No effect of ethanol concentration on locomotor activity was obtained. The results of blood-ethanol determinations indicate that a given dose of ethanol is absorbed more rapidly, and thus reaches greater peak levels, when injected in a higher concentration. Thus ethanol dosage might be better manipulated by varying the volume of a single concentration rather than by altering concentration. In this way, dose-response data will not be obscured by concentration-induced differences in absorption.