Differential effects of long-chain alcohols in long- and short-sleep mice.

Observations that the long-sleep (LS) and short-sleep (SS( mouse lines differ in their depressant response to barbiturates, and that the difference between lines becomes greater as lipid solubility increases, prompted this investigation of the effects of alcohols that differ in lipid solubility. Results indicate that LS and SS mice differ significantly in their sleep time responses to propanol, butanol, and 3-methyl butanol, as well as ethanol: their hypothermic responses showed a similar pattern, but only the response to ethanol differed significantly between lines. For both sleep time and hypothermia, the difference between lines decreased with increasing lipid solubility. In all cases, the LS mice were more sensitive than the SS to the depressant effects of the alcohol. Similar ratios of SS:LS waking brain ethanol and butanol levels indicated that CNS sensitivity to long-chain alcohols is similar to that for ethanol. A pharmacokinetic study revealed higher ethanol levels for LS than for SS mice at all time points in blood, fat, and brain body compartments. Blood ethanol elimination curves showed that the SS mice eliminate ethanol at a faster rate than do the LS.