ETHANOL DRINKING PATTERN DIFFERENTLY AFFECTS NOVELTY-RELATED BEHAVIOUR DURING ABSTINENCE IN FEMALE RATS

Withdrawal from chronic ethanol leads to a multifaceted syndrome, characterized by negative affective state. Novelty seeking and motivation, closely related to affective state, can be assessed in rodents exploring behavioural response to novelty. This study aims at assessing novelty-related behaviour in female rats during ethanol withdrawal following different self-administration patterns. Female rats underwent 9-week-, 2-bottle choice-, continuous or intermittent (3 days/week) access to 20% ethanol; they were named CARs and IARs respectively. After 12h from last ethanol access, they were tested for locomotor activity induced by a novel environment; time spent in the central area of an open…