Item Details

title

Punishment of Ethanol Choice in Rhesus Monkeys

author

Stinson, Benjamin

abstract

Continued alcohol drinking despite negative consequences is a defining characteristic of alcohol use disorder (AUD). In rodents, persistent drinking in the presence of the bitter tastant quinine may represent an AUD-vulnerable phenotype. This study extended rodent studies by developing a nonhuman primate model of quinine-induced punishment of ethanol drinking. Five female rhesus monkeys with 7.3 years’ experience drinking ethanol were studied using a two-bottle choice paradigm. Monkeys were given access to two visually distinct bottles, one containing a 4% ethanol solution and the other containing water, for 3 hours per day. Choice was measured as the percent of ethanol consumed over the total amount of liquid consumed. Ethanol intake (g/kg) was also calculated. Once choice was stable (±10% of the 3-day mean), one concentration of quinine (0.01-5.6 g/L) was added to the ethanol solution for one day. Additional experiments were conducted to validate the choice procedure by manipulating the relative reinforcing strength of water by adding quinine (0.1, 1.0 g/L) or sucrose (1%, 2.5%) the available concentration of ethanol (0.0 – 8.0%) and session duration (1 vs. 3 hours). Finally, the effects of the anxiolytic Buspirone (0.1 - 0.56 mg/kg, i.m., in mixed order) alone and in combination with quinine (1.0, 3.0 g/L) were determined. Monkeys varied widely in their baseline ethanol choice, fluid consumption and ethanol intake. Adding quinine to the ethanol solution resulted in a quinine concentration-dependent decrease in ethanol choice and intake. Adding quinine or sucrose to the water alternative resulted in increases and decreases in ethanol choice, respectively. Ethanol choice and intake were changed across available ethanol concentrations. Buspirone did not selectively decrease the punishing effects of quinine. These results establish a novel, translational nonhuman primate model of ethanol drinking that can be used to investigate the effects of anxiolytics on ethanol drinking and quinine-induced punishment thereof.

subject

Buspirone

Choice

Ethanol

Nonhuman primate

Punishment

Quinine

contributor

Czoty, Paul W (committee chair)

Czoty, Paul W (committee member)

Nader, Michael A (committee member)

Shilling, Elizabeth H (committee member)

date

2022-05-24T08:36:02Z (accessioned)

2022-05-24T08:36:02Z (available)

2022 (issued)

degree

Physiology and Pharmacology (discipline)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/100734 (uri)

language

en (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

type

Thesis