Effect of ethanol and ethanol withdrawal on 3H-muscimol binding and behaviour in the rat: a pilot study

Effect of acute and chronic exposure to and withdrawal from ethanol on 3H-muscimol binding in the forebrains and cerebelli and on withdrawal behaviour was investigated in 30 rats. Chronic exposure to and withdrawal from ethanol produced a significant reduction in the number of muscimol binding sites in the cerebelli. A negative correlation was observed between the number of muscimol binding sites in the forebrain and cerebellum in the chronic ethanol and withdrawal groups. Relatively high correlations were found between the number of muscimol binding sites and audiogenic seizures scores during withdrawal from ethanol. Since impaired GABAergic function is associated with increased susceptibility to seizures, there may be a casual relationship between the observed changes in muscimol binding and ethanol-induced audiogenic withdrawal seizures.