Abstract
The effects of opioid antagonists on conditioned rewardproduced by ethanolprovide variable and sometimes conflicting results, especially in mice. In thepresent set of experiments, male C57BL/6 mice received 4 vehicle and 4 ethanol conditionings, and the rewarding effects of ethanol were assessed in an unbiased version of the conditionedplacepreference (CPP) apparatus and an unbiased stimulus assignmentprocedure. Intraperitoneal (ip) administration of ethanol (2 g/kg, but not 1 g/kg) resulted in the conditioned reward when conditionings lasted for 6 min but not when conditioning lasted for 20 min. Administration of the non-selective opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (1 and 5 mg/kg) before the conditionings attenuated the acquisition of ethanol-inducedplacepreference. Naloxone (1 mg/kg) also inhibited expression of the CPP response, but it did not alter thepreference of vehicle-conditioned mice, suggesting the lack of its own motivational effects in this experimental setting. Taken together, thepresent results suggest that an unbiased version of ethanol-induced CPP in C57BL/6 mice could be a valid model for the study of the motivational effects of ethanol, confirming and expandingprevious findings that have demonstrated inhibitory effects of opioid receptor antagonist on alcohol conditioned reward.
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Wróbel, M. Acquisition and expression of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference in mice is inhibited by naloxone. Pharmacol. Rep 63, 79–85 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1734-1140(11)70401-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1734-1140(11)70401-7