An assessment of novelty-seeking behavior in alcohol-preferring and nonpreferring rats

This study examined novelty-seeking behavior in rat populations selectively bred for high and low alcohol-drinking behavior. In Experiment 1, and "odo r-enhanced" novel environment produced greater behavioral activation in P c ompared to NP rats. In Experiment 2, the activity of high alcohol-drinking P and HAD rats was enhanced to a greater extent following the presentation of novel odors in a familiar arena, compared to the NP and LAD rats. The re sults suggest that, when measuring locomotor activity, alcohol-preferring r ats are more reactive to novelty than their nonpreferring counterparts. Exp eriments 3 and 4, however, did not support the hypothesis that novelty seek ing is associated with genetic vulnerability to high alcohol-drinking behav ior. When measuring nose-poking behavior in response to novel odors and pre ference for a novel vs. a familiar chamber, behavior of the preferring line s did not differ from that of the nonpreferring lines, although P rats were more active in the place-preference paradigm. The overall results indicate that the relationship between novelty and alcohol drinking is only modestl y associated, and is observed under specific conditions. Moreover, this stu dy underscores the importance of using multiple measures when assessing com plex behaviors such as novelty seeking. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.