Alcohol as a food: A commentary on Richter

The present study examined the maintenance of voluntary alcohol intake in male Long-Evans rats. A microstructural analysis of consummatory behaviors (food, alcohol water) was carried out using a computerized drinkometer system. In this sample of animals, there was no association (r = 0.07) between total food intake and total alcohol intake. There was no compensation for the extra calories ingested in the form of alcohol via a reduction in total food intake, or a reduction in food bout sizes associated with pre- or postprandial alcohol consumption. Further microstructural analyses determined that there were no significant difference between water and alcohol in terms of their distribution in relation to food (non-, pre-, or postprandial bouts). Of the total of 586 bouts of fluid intake analyzed, 45.6% were consumed postprandially, with a similar number (43.2%) consumed nonprandially. A comparison of the size of food bouts associated with different fluid bout types (pre- or postprandial) indicated that food bouts were the same size regardless of whether they were accompanied by water or alcohol. A final analysis determined that 55% of the total daily alcohol intake was consumed postprandially, and that the sizes of non-, pre-. or postprandial fluid bouts were significantly different for water vs. alcohol. Post hoc pairwise comparisons found that alcohol postprandial bouts were significantly larger than all types of water bouts. Alcohol and water bouts ranged in size from <0.5 ml to >5.5 ml There was a significant difference in the distribution of bout sizes with more alcohol bouts at the high end of the distribution. Only 24% of the water bouts were >2.5 ml compared to 48.4% of the alcohol bouts. The results of this study demonstrate that rats organize their consummatory behavior in many discrete, short bouts. There were considerable individual differences in alcohol preference, alcohol-bout frequency, duration, and size, as well as the prandial distribution of bouts. All of these variables together produce the ''pattern'' of alcohol intake in individual animals, and is likely to influence the level of intoxication achieved. Although rats do not dissociate their alcohol intake from normal feeding patterns, alcohol bouts occurring postprandially are significantly larger than other bouts of fluid consumption, suggesting that animals perceive the pharmacological effects of and are affected by the alcohol they consume. In animals with a preference for alcohol solutions, it is unlikely that alcohol is consumed as a food. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Inc.