Tiagabine reduces ethanol reward in C57BL/6 mice under acute and chronic administration regimens

Three experiments conducted on male C57BL/6 (B6) mice examined the effects of subcutaneous injections of the GABA uptake inhibitor, tiagabine, on appetitive (lever responding) and consummatory behavior (fountain contacts) of food restricted B6 mice for 12% ethanol and water rewards (Exp-1), and for food reward (Exp-2) delivered on a fixed ratio 4 schedule of reinforcement. Effects of acute injections (1,3,6,9 mgkg) and chronic administration (6,9 mg/kg) was examined. Exp-3 examined tiagabine effects on the voluntary consumption of continuously available 12% ethanol, and on the interactive effects of tiagabine and ethanol on motor activity of non-food restricted B6 mice. Results of Exp-1 and Exp-2 indicated that tiagabine can reduce appetitive behavior for ethanol reward with no evidence of tolerance upon chronic exposure. Tiagabine doses that reduced ethanol reward had less effect on behavior maintained by either water or food, and had no effect on motor activity. In contrast to the absence of tolerance to its effect on appetitive behavior for ethanol, mice rapidly developed tolerance to tiagabine's initial reduction of the consummatory response for ethanol (Exp-1), and the intake of freely available ethanol exceeded pre-tiagabine levels after several daily injections (Exp-3). Importantly, mice developed tolerance to tiagabine's sedative effect after three daily injections and its sedation was not enhanced when combined with ethanol, an effect consistent with the lack of a tiagabine + ethanol interaction previously reported for humans. The results of the experiments suggest that in addition to reducing alcohol withdrawal symptoms, tiagabine might also reduce the potency of ethanol-conditioned cues that drive appetitive behavior for ethanol.