Alteration of alcohol drinking in the rat by peripherally self-administered acetaldehyde.

The effects of intravenous acetaldehyde or saline self-injection and feeding regimes on oral alcohol consumption in rats was examined. The alcohol solutions offered to the animals was increased systematically in concentrations from 3 to 30%, according to a three-bottle, two-choice technique. Results suggest that (1) acetaldehyde pre-treatment using a self-injection procedure induces increased consumption of alcohol, the effect being particularly marked when coupled with conditions of food-deprivation (2) food-deprivation alone may be capable of inducing increased alcohol intake and this effect may persist even when deprivation is terminated (3) the combination of acetaldehyde and food-deprivation is most effective when food-deprivation follows a period of free-feeding. These findings provide support for an involvement of acetaldehyde in the development of an animal's preference for alcohol.