Binge eating promotes ethanol self-administration in female rats with a history of intermittent ethanol exposure at adolescence.

Background: Ethanol drinking begins during adolescence and, particularly when occurs in a binge-like pattern, exerts lingering adverse consequences. Pre-clinical studies indicate that intermittent ethanol exposure (IEA, a model of repeated ethanol intoxication), or binge eating (BE) can increase subsequent ethanol consumption. It is unknown if the promoting effects of BE upon ethanol drinking are found in female rats and are modulated by IEA at adolescence. This study assessed interactive effects between IEA and BE, upon ethanol drinking.

Methods: Female Wistar rats were given 4.0 g/kg ethanol, every other day from postnatal day 25-45. At adulthood, they were exposed to sessions in which a brief offering of a sizeable portion of highly palatable sugary pills was followed by a 120-min exposure to an ethanol bottle.

Results: Exploratory activity and recognition memory was not affected by the IEA. Glutathione peroxidase and catalase activity, and lipid peroxidation (measured in blood and brain at the end of the procedure) were not significantly affected by IEA or BE exposure. BE alone had a mild promoting effect on ethanol ingestion. Those rats that underwent IEA and BE, however, exhibited heightened and sustained ethanol self-administration (average of 2.12 g/kg/120 min, vs 1.15 g/kg/120 min of the other groups), that persisted throughout the BE sessions. IEA and a history of BE also promoted ethanol intake or preference in a two-bottle endpoint test.

Conclusion: The study suggests that exposure to IEA exerts, when followed by BE at adulthood, promoting effects upon ethanol intake, particularly at concentrations ≥ 6%.