Separation of the tremorous and muscular rigidity components of the ethanol withdrawal syndrome in the rat.

The alcohol withdrawal syndrome consists of a kinetic tremor, the tremorous component, and a peculiar abnormality of tone called asterixis, the muscular rigidity component. The severity of the ethanol withdrawal syndrome in the rat is generally assessed by the severity of the tremors. 3-Hydroxybutyrate suppresses the tremorous component but not the muscular rigidity component of the ethanol withdrawal syndrome, thus effectively differentiating the two components in the rat.