The effect of chronic ethanol treatment on behaviour and central monoamines in the rat

Rats weaned at 16 days of age were treated with various ethanol concentrations (8--24% w/v) for 270 days. The effect of the chronic ethanol treatment on the growth rate, the diurnal pattern of drinking, the open field activity, and the conditioned avoidance acquisition and retention of the rats were studied. Termination of the chronic ethanol administration caused two types of withdrawal syndromes. The first, an acute withdrawal syndrome was observed within 12 h after the discontinuation of the ethanol treatment and was characterized by extreme hyperexcitability. The second, a delayed withdrawal syndrome was characterized by a more coordinated behavioural stimulation and developed first after about 3 days after the discontinuation of the ethanol treatment. Biochemically, the latter withdrawal syndrome was accompanied by an increased rate of tyrosine hydroxylation (measured as the accumulation of dopa after inhibition of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase) in the striatum and dopamine-rich limbic structures. No differences in the accumulation of 5-hydroxytryptophan were observed. Furthermore, there was an increased level of dopamine concomitant with a decreased level of noradrenaline in the limbic areas during ongoing ethanol treatment. On the 4th day after withdrawal of ethanol the endogenous levels of dopamine and noradrenaline were statistically significantly reduced in the limbic structures. The data of the present study indicate that chronic ethanol administration induces various kinds of behavioural changes and that these changes at least partially are mediated via central catecholamine mechanisms.