A Method for Evaluating the Reinforcing Properties of Ethanol in Rats without Water Deprivation, Saccharin Fading or Extended Access Training

The overall goal of this protocol is to quickly initiate operant responding for alcohol in rats with a method that is convenient for experiementers and, contrary to standard methods, does not require water deprivation, or saccharin sucrose fading. So this method is a very useful tool to answer key questions about the neurobiology and neuropharmacology of alcohol reward in alcohol seeking in rats. The main advantage of this technique is that it does not require saccharin sucrose fading to initiate alcohol responding in rats.

First eliminating the potentially downfall of using sweeteners in ethanol self-administration administration procedure. For this experiment, obtain rats weighing 200 to 225 grams. Wistar males are used here.