[Changes in the higher nervous activity of the progeny of alcoholized male white rats]

Some forms of behaviour of the offsprings of male rats, which within a period more than 1 month gave preference to 20% ethanol solution over water (I group), were compared with behaviour of the offsprings of males, in which alcoholic motivation had been interrupted after a period of preferential consumption of ethanol during 1 month (II group), and behaviour of the offsprings of intact males (III group). Exploratory and locomotor activity in the animals of the I group was lower, and the level of anxiety was higher, than in the animals of the II group; there were no distinctions between the animals of the II and the III groups (by testing in elevated plus-maze). Memory traces in a test of avoidance by swimming retained worse in the females of the I group, than in the females of the II group; there were no distinctions between males. Capability for bilateral active avoidance conditioning was higher in the animals of the I group, but at the same time the number of animals, which demonstrated non-escape reaction, increase. Forced alcoholization of males of the I and the II groups was carried out beginning from the age of 7 months. Within 2.5 months after the beginning of alcoholization 2/3 of the rats of the I group demonstrated ethanol preference during a testing period of 1 month. Such preference retained only in 14.3% of the animals of the II group. It is supposed that the main factor, which determines predisposition of the offsprings to alcohol consumption, is alcohol consumption by parents rather than their own predisposition.