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A further note on studies of acquired behavioural tolerance to alcohol

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Abstract

The behavioural tolerance to alcohol was studied in 12 male hooded rats. Results indicated that the diminishing behavioural effect of ethanol after repeated intoxications was obtained only in animals that had practiced a temporal maze skill under ethanol, but not in animals that had experienced the same amount of ethanol but practice the skill in a sober state. A retention test showed that the acquired tolerance effect was well retained. These findings suggest that learning processes are involved in the development of behavioural tolerance to alcohol. Experiment 2 studied the development of tolerance to alcohol with 61 BALB/c inbred mice in a situation (audiogenic seizures) where learning processes were not involved. Results indicated that tolerance to alcohol which appear to be subserved by physiological mechanism, developed only after repeated administrations of high dose of ethanol, and that the capacity of the subserving mechanism was relatively small.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia

    Chia -Shong Chen

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  1. Chia -Shong Chen
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This research was supported by Australian Research Grants committee grants A69/17193.

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Chen, C.S. A further note on studies of acquired behavioural tolerance to alcohol. Psychopharmacologia 27, 265–274 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00422807

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00422807

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