New measurement criteria for studying alcohol drinking and relapse in rodents

摘要

PurposeRelapse to alcohol use is considered as one of the central features distinguishing dependence from controlled alcohol consumption. Relapse-like drinking in rodents is a transient episode of heavy drinking that follows a period of abstinence. This behaviour is called the alcohol deprivation effect (ADE). Not all animals develop behavioural changes that resemble relapse-like drinking behaviour. The purpose of our study was to develop a generalized quantitative criterion by which animals could be separated into two groups depending on their behaviour during a relapse-like situation (ADE vs. no-ADE).