Voluntary consumption of ethanol in WSP, WSC and WSR selectively bred mouse lines

The genetic correlation between voluntary consumption of ethanol solutions and severity of withdrawal seizures after chronic ethanol exposure was assessed using the selectively bred Withdrawal Seizure Prone (WSP) and Resistant (WSR) mouse lines. WSP mice have at least ten-fold more severe withdrawal than WSR mice after equal chronic ethanol exposure, and withdrawal in a nonselected control line (WSC) is intermediate to withdrawal in the WSP and WSR lines. In the first experiment, mice from the WSP, WSC and WSR lines were offered a choice between 2.2, 4.6 and 10.0% ethanol solutions and water in three consecutive eight-day sessions. WSR mice consumed more ethanol than WSP mice, and WSC mice were intermediate. In a second experiment, WSP and WSR mice were offered ethanol solutions in concentrations that were adjusted up or down every two days depending upon the amount of ethanol consumed. WSP and WSR mice displayed very different patterns of drinking, with WSP mice drinking more ethanol in early stages of the experiment, and WSR mice drinking more ethanol later. Results of these experiments suggest that some genes influencing severity of withdrawal from ethanol also influence voluntary ethanol drinking.