Disassociation of cerebellar phospholipid composition and acute ethanol effects in mice selectively bred for differential sensitivity to ethanol.

The relationship between genetically determined acute ethanol sensitivity and cerebellar phospholipid composition was investigated. Cerebellar phospholipid composition was compared in two lines of mice that have been selected for differential sensitivity to the acute hypnotic actions of ethanol. The relative ethanol sensitivity of the long sleep (LS) and ethanol resistance of short sleep (SS) mice is well established, and was observed in this study. Cerebellar phospholipid and cholesterol concentrations were found to be identical in the two lines. No differences were found in the total cerebellar or synaptosomal plasma membrane phospholipid fatty acid composition between the two lines. Additionally, there was no change in phospholipid composition or cholesterol concentration in the cerebellum of either SS or LS mice following chronic alcohol treatment. This study suggests that neither total cerebellar nor synaptosomal phospholipid composition is a major determinant of the differential response to acute ethanol in the ethanol sensitive and resistant mouse lines.