Inverse genetic association between alcohol preference and severity of alcohol withdrawal in two sets of rat lines selected for the same phenotype

Background: The purpose of the present study was to determine whether alcohol-naive rats selectively bred for alcohol preference or nonpreference differ in alcohol withdrawal severity using two sets of rat lines selectively bred for the same phenotype. Methods: Alcohol-naive male rats from the high alcohol drinking (HAD1) and low alcohol drinking (LAD1) rat lines and from the alcohol preferring (P) and nonpreferring (NP) rat lines received an intra-gastric infusion of alcohol (4.0 g/20.3 ml/kg; 25% v/v) or an equal volume of water once a day for 10 consecutive days. Alcohol withdrawal severity was assessed at using a behavioral rating scale and a radiant heat assay measured analgesia at 10, 12,14, 16, 18, and 24 hrs following infusion of alcohol or water on days 1, 5, and 10 of treatment. Results: Data were analyzed using body weight as a co-factor to correct for differences in body weight between the HAD1/LAD1 and P/NP lines. Acute (1 day) but not repeated alcohol treatment (5 or 10 days) produced mild behavioral signs of withdrawal in LAD1 but not in HAD1 rats. HAD1 and LAD1 rats showed alcohol-induced analgesia after 1 and 5 days of alcohol treatment that disappeared by day 10 in both lines. Repeated alcohol treatment (5 days) produced mild behavioral signs of withdrawal in NP but not in P rats. Neither P nor NP rats showed alcohol-induced analgesia after 1, 5, or 10 days of alcohol treatment. Conclusions: An inverse genetic association was found between alcohol preference and severity of alcohol withdrawal in two sets of rat lines selected for the same phenotype. The pattern of alcohol withdrawal that emerged over the course of the 10 days of alcohol treatment differed between the two lines selected for low alcohol drinking (LAD1 and NP), suggesting that unique sets of genes may influence alcohol withdrawal severity in the two lines.