Adams N, Oldham T D
Department of Social Sciences, Winston-Salem State University, North Carolina 27110, USA.
J Stud Alcohol. 1996 Jul;57(4):349-51. doi: 10.15288/jsa.1996.57.349.
Previous studies of ethanol (EtOH) intake under spontaneous choice conditions in Maudsley Reactive (MR) rats have demonstrated marked variability in EtOH preference. The present study investigated whether the social housing environment during the juvenile and early adult period would influence subsequent EtOH intake in male MR rats.
Rats were assigned to isolation, group housing in typical laboratory cages, or to a seminatural enclosure setting (1 x 2 m) at approximately 42 days of age and were maintained there for 16 weeks. Rats were then singly housed and exposed to a 2-bottle choice of 10% (v/v) EtOH versus tap water for 8 weeks.
MRs housed in the seminatural setting drank some three times the level of EtOH consumed by isolate or group housed rats with regard to both preference ratio and intake of pure EtOH relative to body weight.
A number of factors are hypothesized to account for the increased consumption of EtOH in rats housed in the seminatural setting, including differences in social dynamics across settings, and switching from a large physical space to a smaller isolated space. The results demonstrate that environmental factors can significantly modify the tendency to drink excessive amounts of EtOH in an inbred strain showing some preference for EtOH.
先前对莫兹利反应性（MR）大鼠在自发选择条件下乙醇（EtOH）摄入量的研究表明，乙醇偏好存在显著差异。本研究调查了幼年和成年早期的群居环境是否会影响雄性MR大鼠随后的乙醇摄入量。
在大约42日龄时，将大鼠分为单独饲养组、置于典型实验室笼中的群居组或置于半自然环境（1×2米）中，并在那里饲养16周。然后将大鼠单独饲养，并给予10%（v/v）乙醇与自来水的两瓶选择，持续8周。
就偏好率和相对于体重的纯乙醇摄入量而言，置于半自然环境中的MR大鼠饮用的乙醇量约为单独饲养或群居大鼠的三倍。
据推测，有多种因素可解释置于半自然环境中的大鼠乙醇消耗量增加的现象，包括不同环境下社会动态的差异，以及从较大的物理空间转换到较小的单独空间。结果表明，环境因素可显著改变在对乙醇有一定偏好的近交系中饮用过量乙醇的倾向。
