Reduction of swimming time in mice through interaction of infrasound and alcohol

The effects of noise, alcohol, and the combination of the two were studied on muscular fatigue in several mouse strains to investigate a possible interaction between the two stresses. Muscular fatigue was measured by latency to submersion during a forced-swimming test. Animals were exposed to acoustic stimuli of fixed frequency and intensity for 2h preceding the test. Ethanol was administered orally from 30 min to 3h 30 min prior to testing. Alcohol doses and sound intensities were subliminal when administered separately. While no significant interaction occurred between alcohol and audible sound, the interaction between alcohol and infrasound was highly significant indicating that their joint effects are more than merely additive. Blood alcohol measurements indicate that these interactive effects are prolonged for more than 2h after elimination of alcohol from the blood. Effects are similar in genetically deaf and hearing mice, implicating involvement of nonauditory pathways.