Chronic alcohol exposure parametric effects on anxiety- and pain-related behaviors in adult rats

Many animal models of alcohol dependence utilize forced alcohol exposure, including chronic intermittent exposure to alcohol vapor, to induce high blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and withdrawal-associated behaviors similar to those seen in clinical contexts. Chronic alcohol exposure and withdrawal are especially important in influencing the expression of negative symptoms (e.g., negative affect and pain), which, in turn, increase alcohol consumption. However, cessation of chronic alcohol vapor exposure does not always lead to those "canonical" withdrawal behaviors in rodents. Environmental and genetic factors may modulate alcohol effects on behavior during withdrawal. Here, we used retrospective data analysis to determine associations between alcohol vapor exposure parameters (e.g., BACs, duration of exposure) and anxiety- or pain-like behavior in adult male and female Wistar rats. Our results indicate that specific vapor exposure parameters are predictive of thermal hyperalgesia in Wistar rats but less so for anxiety-like behavior during alcohol withdrawal; collectively, these data may be helpful in informing experiments designed to investigate chronic alcohol effects on behavioral outcomes.