Mouse Lines Selected for Alcohol Consumption Differ on Certain Measures of ImpulsivityAlcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (OnlineEarly Articles)
11 September 2007
Alcoholics and heavy drinkers score higher on measures of impulsivity than nonalcoholics and light drinkers. This may be due to factors that predate drug exposure (e.g. genetics) or to neuroadaptations associated with exposure to alcohol.
The aim of this study was to examine the role of genetics by comparing impulsivity in short-term selected lines of mice bred to voluntarily drink either high (STDRHI2) or low (STDRLO2) amounts of 10% ethanol.
No significant differences were found between STDRHI2 and STDRLO2 mice in delay discounting. In the Go/No-go task, STDRHI2 mice made more responses during the pre-cue period without committing more false alarms, compared with STDRLO2 mice.
The results suggest that short-term selective breeding for high relative alcohol consumption may also select for animals that have impaired response inhibition.
Reprint Request E-Mail: wilhelmc@ohsu.edu
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