0294 Voluntary Alcohol Consumption and Sleep Deprivation in Rats (original) (raw)

Introduction Alcohol is one of the most common psychoactive drugs that has depressant effects on the central nervous system. The vast majority of research on alcohol and sleep indicates chronic alcohol consumption has a detrimental impact on sleep architecture and homeostasis. However, less research has explored the effects of sleep deprivation on alcohol consumption; that is, the relationship in the opposite direction. Previous animal studies have explored a potential bi-directional relationship between sleep and alcohol with promising results. However, there was concern that the potential relationship may be a result of stress as a by-product of the sleep deprivation method. The present study examines the effect of sleep deprivation on voluntary alcohol consumption using two sleep deprivation methods in the rat, forced exercise wheels and the automated sleep deprivation system. Methods Twelve male Sprague-Dawley rats had ad libitum access to a 7% alcohol solution and water. Alcoho...