Indexing withdrawal in mice: matching genotypes for exposure in studies using ethanol vapor inhalation.

Withdrawal Seizure-Prone (WSP) and -Resistant (WSR) mice have been bidirectionally selected for severity of handling-induced convulsions (HIC) following withdrawal from 72 hr of chronic ethanol vapor inhalation. During selection, daily injections of the alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitor, pyrazole, were used to enhance and stabilize blood ethanol concentrations (BEC). After 26 generations of selection, WSR mice show lower withdrawal BEC than WSP mice exposed to the same ethanol vapor concentrations.

Response to selection for ethanol-induced locomotor activation: genetic analyses and selection response characterization.

Selectively bred FAST mice are highly susceptible, while SLOW mice are less susceptible, to the locomotor stimulant effects of ethanol. Heritability estimates indicate that approximately 15% of the variance in the FAST lines is of additive genetic origin, while low susceptibility is ostensibly nonheritable. Inbreeding has increased at the rate of 2% per generation, but fertility has been unaffected.

Response to selection for sensitivity to ethanol hypothermia: genetic analyses.

Selective breeding has been used to produce lines of mice differing in sensitivity to the hypothermic effects of ethanol (EtOH). Two genetically independent HOT (insensitive) and two COLD (sensitive) lines are maintained along with two nonselected control (CON) lines. The breeding program is currently in selected generation 14, and HOT and COLD mice differ by about 4 degrees C in selected hypothermic response.

Genetic components of ethanol responses.

A powerful technique for determining the role of a particular neurotransmitter in mediating a response to ethanol (EtOH) is the analysis of selectively bred lines of animals. Lines selected for sensitivity and resistance to an EtOH effect differ principally in gene frequencies for genes affecting the selected response. Hence, other differences between the lines are likely due to pleiotropic actions of those genes.