[Abstract Title]. - Society for Neuroscience

co-variation in alcohol and sweet intake remain to be determined, recent findings indicate that
sweet taste substrates are involved in alcohol intake and preference in C57BL/6J mice (Brasser et
al., 2006; Blednov et al., 2008), suggesting that the processing of alcohol‟s sweet taste
component may be influencing its ingestion. The present study compared self-initiated
orosensory responding to alcohol and prototypic sweet, bitter, and oral trigeminal stimuli among
P, NP, and non-selected Wistar rat lines to assess the relationship between genetically-influenced
alcohol preference and orosensory sensitivity to these stimuli. Rats were tested for immediate
short-term lick responses to alcohol (3, 5, 10, 15, 25, 40%), sucrose (0.01, 0.03, 0.06, 0.1, 0.3, 1
M), quinine (0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3 mM) and capsaicin (0.003, 0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1 mM) in a
brief-access paradigm designed to index orosensory-mediated behavior while minimizing the
influence of post-ingestive factors. P rats displayed elevated short-term lick responses to both
alcohol and sucrose relative to NP and Wistar lines across a wide range of concentrations of each
stimulus. There were no line differences in orosensory avoidance of capsaicin, and Wistar rats
showed a moderately greater aversion to quinine compared to P and NP lines, which did not
differ in quinine sensitivity. These data indicate that genetic selection for alcohol preference in P
rats is associated with enhanced sensory responses to alcohol and sweet stimuli, consistent with
prior evidence that differences in sweet taste processing may contribute to differences in alcohol
intake.
Disclosures: B.C. Silbaugh, None; M. Ketchum, None; S.M. Brasser, None.
Poster
257. Alcohol Intake and Preference
Time: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Program#/Poster#: 257.10/Z27
Topic: C.16.a. Alcohol
Support: NIH-NIAAA R56AA012386 GDF
Title: Do GABAARs containing alpha 2/3/5 subunits contribute to synaptic dysfunction after
early postnatal binge-ethanol exposure in medial septum / diagonal band (MS/DB) neurons?
Authors: *G. D. FRYE, H. WANG;
Neurosci & Exptl. Therap, Texas A&M Univ. Syst Hlth. Sci. C, College Station, TX
Abstract: „Binge-like‟ ethanol exposure on PD 4-9 exaggerates allopregnanolone and blunts
zolpidem potentiation of GABAA receptor (GABAARs) mediated miniature postsynaptic
current (mPSC) decay kinetics in MS/DB neurons in brain slices prepared on PD 11-16 (Wang
and Frye SfN Abst, 34: 329.2, 2006; Wang et al., EB Abst, 1439:1127.12 2008). This treatment