An animal model for low dose ethanol-induced locomotor stimulation: behavioral characteristics

The present paper describes a rat strain, Maudsley reactive (MR/N), which dramatically and reliably shows enhanced locomotor stimulation in an openfield apparatus after low doses of ethanol. Other strains, Sprague-Dawley and Wistar inbred, do not show stimulation, whereas Maudsley nonreactive rats show a less dramatic and variable response to ethanol, compared to the MR/N strain. Female MR/N rats show greater stimulation than male MR/N rats, and the response is dose-, age-, and apparatus-related. We conclude that low dose ethanol-induced locomotor stimulation in the MR/N rat strain could be a valuable rodent model for studying central neurochemical correlates of alcohol intoxication.