Behavioral changes in rats on the day after acute ethanol intoxication.

Activity in computer-monitored running wheels, behavior in open-field tests, body temperature measured by rectal probe, and vocalization were examined in rats after a single injection of 2.5 g/kg ethanol or saline. A reduction in running-wheel activity occurred during intoxication, followed by a significant increase in running 20-24 hr after the injection. Also 24 hr after ethanol, among rats kept in normal cages, there was an increase in body temperature and vocalization and a decrease in ambulation in a dark, quiet open field. Each of these 3 aftereffects was reduced or abolished in the rats with access to a running wheel. The results confirm and extend previous findings of aftereffects of acute intoxication in rats with a time course similar to hangover in humans.