METABOLIC MAPPING OF THE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC VOLUNTARY ETHANOL-CONSUMPTION IN RATS

The 2-[C-14]deoxyglucose method was used to examine the effects of chr onic, voluntary ethanol consumption on rates of local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU). LCGU was measured in male Long-Evans rats immedia tely following the completion of a 60-min schedule-induced polydipsia drinking session. Three groups of animals were examined: animals with a history of ethanol consumption that received ethanol on the test day (ethanol-ethanol), animals with a similar ethanol history that were p resented with water on the test day (ethanol-water), and a control gro up that received water throughout the experiment (water-water). Ethano l consumption on the test day resulted in a highly discrete pattern of metabolic changes, with significant decreases in glucose utilization in the hippocampal complex, habenula, anterior ventral thalamus, and m ammillary bodies, whereas increases were observed in the nucleus accum bens and locus coeruleus. Rates of LCGU in the ethanol-water group wer e increased throughout all regions of the central nervous system exami ned, indicating that the long-term consumption of moderate ethanol dos es that do not produce physical dependence can cause significant chang es in functional brain activity.