EXPOSURE TO SUCROSE-QUININE SOLUTIONS DOES NOT INCREASE ETHANOL-CONSUMPTION

The taste of ethanol can be aversive or preferred based on prior exper ience with ethanol consumption. A preference for ethanol's taste is th ought to result from the association of ethanol's taste with its neuro pharmacological activity. However, acclimation to ethanol's aversive t aste may also play a role in increased ethanol consumption following p rolonged exposure. The present study examined if acclimation to a bitt er-sweet tastant, which has been suggested to share similar taste qual ities with ethanol, would increase ethanol intake with only minimal pr ior experience of an association of ethanol intake with its neuropharm acological activity. Male Long-Evans rats were trained to drink 10% su crose during 20-min sessions. The consumption of 0-20% ethanol was the n determined before and after exposure to a sucrose-quinine solution. Before the sucrose-quinine taste acclimation procedure, the initial in take of sucrose-quinine was low and similar to 5% ethanol. After the a cclimation procedure, increases in sucrose-quinine intake, but not eth anol intake, were observed. These data could indicate that any similar ity in the taste qualities of sucrose-quinine and ethanol solutions ar e diminished following exposure to sucrose-quinine. Alternatively, the differential changes in sucrose-quinine and ethanol intake could be t he result of being differentially regulated by a combination of taste and postingestive factors. Overall, these data indicate that exposure to sucrose-quinine, which resulted in increased intake of sucrose-quin ine, was not sufficient to alter ethanol intake. Rather, exposure to t aste and postingestive factors associated with ethanol may be necessar y to increase ethanol intake. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.