Acute ethanol administration selectively impairs spatial memory in C57BL/6J mice.

It has been shown in rats that acute ethanol administration, via a single intraperitoneal injection, selectively impairs the memory of certain spatial tasks. It is unknown whether these same results can be produced in the C57BL/6J mouse strain. Male C57BL/6J mice were trained in a spatial task in the Morris water maze. After training, an ethanol test was administered in which each mouse was given an injection of one of four randomly assigned doses: ethanol, at a dose of 1.25, 1.75, or 2.25 g/kg, or a saline control dose that remained constant at 1.75 g/kg. Thirty minutes after injection, the mice were given the spatial task. Next, the same mice were given training for a nonspatial task in the Morris water maze. After training, another ethanol test was administered. Again, the mice were randomly assigned one of the aforementioned doses. Thirty minutes after injections, the mice were given the nonspatial task. Results from Study 1, by using latency, showed that acute ethanol administration selectively impaired spatial memory (P<.05) at 1.75 and 2.25 g/kg doses, yet it failed to significantly impair nonspatial memory except at the 2.25 g/kg dose. Results from Study 2, by using path lengths, showed similar effects, in that acute ethanol administration selectively impaired spatial memory (P<.05) at the 2.25 g/kg dose, yet it failed to impair nonspatial memory at any dose. These findings demonstrate that acute ethanol administration selectively impairs spatial memory in C57BL/6J mice.