The Majchrowicz binge alcohol protocol: an intubation technique to study alcohol dependence in rats

Binge drinking of alcohol is an important public health issue, and experimental studies are needed to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of this problem and develop improved approaches to treatment. This unit presents a validated and widely used method to model binge alcohol drinking in rats. It consists of three daily intragastric administrations of ethanol to rats for 4 days. Ethanol is initially administered at 5 g/kg, and then each subsequent dose is determined based on the degree of intoxication the rat exhibits prior to each dose. The behavior of the animal is graded based on a well-described scale. After the fourth day, various aspects of the ethanol withdrawal syndrome can be observed over a predictable time course and additional protocols can be employed to study mechanisms of specific aspects of withdrawal and treatments to prevent them. One specific behavior observed during ethanol withdrawal and described here is sound-induced (audiogenic) convulsive seizure.