Differences in free-choice ethanol acceptance between taste aversion-prone and taste aversion-resistant rats

Taste aversion (TA)-prone (TAP) and TA-resistant (TAR) rats were tested for naive, nonforced acceptance of ethanol. Ethanol acceptance had played no role in line development. Rather, the lines had been developed via bidirectional, nonsibling matings based on susceptibility to develop cyclophosphamide-induced conditioned TAs to a 0.1% saccharin solution (at cyclophosphamide doses of 12.5 mg/kg for males and 15.0 mg/kg for females, i.p.). Rats from the 23rd selectively bred generations, with no prior exposure to ethanol, were given 24-hr access to a two-bottle choice between plain tap water and a solution of ethanol in water. Rats were initially given access to 1% ethanol in water, and the ethanol concentration was increased by 1% every 3 days to a maximum of 10%. Ethanol consumption (g ethanol consumed/kg body weight) and preference scores (volume ethanol solution consumed/total fluid intake) were determined by daily bottle weighings. At 1% ethanol concentration, there were no differences between the rat lines in terms of ethanol consumption or preference. At concentrations of 2 to 10%, TAP rats consumed less ethanol and showed a decreased preference for the ethanol solutions than TAR rats. Maximum ethanol consumption was reached at the 6% concentration for both lines. The mean (+/- SE) values of consumption at 6% ethanol were 1.8 (+/- 0.8) and 5.6 (+/- 0.5) g of ethanol/kg body weight for TAP and TAR rats, respectively. Mean (+/- SE) preference scores at 6% ethanol were 26 (+/- 12) and 76 (+/- 6) for TAP and TAR rats, respectively. These findings indicate that differences in TA conditionability may be associated with the propensity of rats to be high or low consumers of ethanol. Based on these data, it is hypothesized that high susceptibility for TA conditionability may deter many individuals from consuming the high levels of ethanol that usually precede alcohol tolerance and dependence.