The influence of long-term ethanol and caffeine consumption on the ethanol preference in male rats
Earlier it was shown that the highest ethanol preference was observed in female rats drinking ethanol with caffeine, less in rats receiving ethanol, and even less in animals, receiving caffeine. The goal of the study was to examine the influence of combined effects of ethanol and caffeine on the alcohol preference formation and behavior in male rats in a long-term experiment. It was found that the preference of ethanol solution has increased in all experimental male rats compared to controls. The rats drinking caffeine with ethanol preferred alcohol in «two-bottle-test» earlier than ethanol drinking rats. The animals which got only caffeine have not shawn the preference to alcohol in the end of the experiment. The behavioral activity was observed in rats getting caffeine and caffeine with alcohol. Probably the received behavioral effects has been associated with a complex mechanism of combined ethanol and caffeine action on the neurotransmitter systems