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ATTENUATION OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION BY MDMA (ECSTASY) IN TWO STRAINS OF ALCOHOL PREFERRING RATS
Citation:
Rezvani, A., P. Garges, D. Miller, AND C. Gordon. ATTENUATION OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION BY MDMA (ECSTASY) IN TWO STRAINS OF ALCOHOL PREFERRING RATS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-92/424 (NTIS PB93141232), 1992.
Description:
Alcohol preference and manifestation of alcoholism are thought by many to be associated with serotonin (5-HT) dysfunction in the brain. hus, experiments were performed to determine the effect of acute and sub-chronic administration (s.c.) of (+/-)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), an amphetamine analogue which stimulates 5-HT release, on alcohol preference in two strains of alcohol preferring rats, the Fawn-Hooded (FH) and alcohol preferring (P) rats. ats were individually housed and provided free access to a solution of 10% ethanol, food and water. thanol, food and water intakes were measured daily. fter establishing a stable baseline for ethanol and water intake, each rat was injected with a dose of 5.0 mg/kg MDMA or an equal volume of saline for one or three consecutive days. ody temperature was recorded immediately before and 120, 240 and 360 mins. after MDMA treatment. thanol, food and water intake were measured for the preceding 24 hours. urther, to determine the effect of MDMA on alcohol metabolism, rats were injected with 5.0 mg/kg MDMA or saline and 15 mins. later with 2.5 g/kg alcohol. hen, the blood alcohol levels were determined at 1, 3 and 5 hours after alcohol administration. ur results show that a single administration of 5.0 mg/kg MDMA significantly decreased ethanol intake in both FH and P rats and increased water intake. ub-chronic administration of 5.0 mg/kg MDMA for three consecutive days significantly attenuated alcohol intake in both.