Oral ethanol self-administration in the rat: effect of naloxone

Rats responding on a two lever concurrent for ethanol and water, were injected with 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg naloxone hydrochloride 30 min prior to a 30 min session. Only the 20 mg/kg dose had any effect, a decrease in responding for ethanol of up to 50% compared to saline control injection sessions. There were no systematic effects upon water responding. An additional study using sucrose and water as the fluid concurrently available failed to find any effects of naloxone on sucrose responding at the same doses. The effect upon ethanol responding was found not to resemble a pattern of extinction, but rather was best described as a general overall reduction in responding. The relation of these findings to the direct involvement of the endogenous opiate system in ethanol reinforcement is discussed.