Avegno Elizabeth M, Gilpin Nicholas W
Department of Physiology, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
Bio Protoc. 2019 May 5;9(9). doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.3222.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a significant public health and economic burden and is often characterized by repeated bouts of alcohol intoxication and withdrawal. Virtually all organ systems are impacted by chronic alcohol exposure. These effects can be investigated using the rat as a model organism; however, rats typically will not self-administer alcohol to levels necessary to achieve physiological and behavioral aspects of dependence. The protocol described herein can be utilized to induce alcohol dependence in rats by administering alcohol vapor to the homecage for an extended period of time. This method allows the researcher to control the level, duration, and pattern of intoxication, and it reliably induces physiological and behavioral aspects of alcohol dependence, allowing for the study of biology and behavior with relevance for AUD in humans.
酒精使用障碍（AUD）是一项重大的公共卫生和经济负担，其特征通常是反复出现酒精中毒和戒断症状。几乎所有器官系统都会受到长期酒精暴露的影响。这些影响可以通过将大鼠作为模式生物来进行研究；然而，大鼠通常不会自行摄入达到依赖的生理和行为方面所需水平的酒精。本文所述的方案可用于通过在家笼中长期给予酒精蒸汽来诱导大鼠产生酒精依赖。这种方法使研究人员能够控制中毒的水平、持续时间和模式，并且能可靠地诱导酒精依赖的生理和行为方面，从而有助于研究与人类酒精使用障碍相关的生物学和行为。
