Alcohol and social behaviour in group-housed female mice

Group-housed female mice were injected IP with 0, 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg of ethanol. Twenty min after injection, the animal's responses in a neutral cage to a docile male "standard opponent" were videotaped for 500 sec. The tapes were subsequently analysed in terms of the total times allocated by the females to non-social, social/sexual, aggressive and timid activities. The frequency of occurrence of acts and postures associated with the above categories was also determined. Similar females given the same doses were used to assess the blood alcohol concentrations 20 min after injection. Timid behaviour was greatly increased by high doses of ethanol, especially as a consequence of increases in the element 'cringe'; at the low dose 'cringe' was decreased in frequency. Social/sexual behaviour was also influenced in a biphasic manner, low doses increasing and high doses reducing such activity. The drug modified some elements of non-social behaviour in a manner suggesting motor impairment at high doses. There was no evidence that any dose of ethanol induced aggressiveness in these animals. There did not seem to be a simple dose-response effect.