Physiological Alcohol Consumption

Abstract

When the preference for alcohol or water is determined in experimental animals it is found that the inborn alcohol preference varies greatly between different species as well as among different individuals of the same species. A hypothesis has been presented to relate the inborn preference for alcohol consumption to physiological factors, i.e. to the metabolism of the animal. The inborn alcohol consumption of laboratory rats could be altered by changing the hormone balance of the animal which in turn influenced the metabolism. If the rat received insulin or N-sulfaninyl-N[long dash]-n-butylcarbamide, a drug with similar effect, they increased their alcohol consumption, but when the rats were treated with alloxan they showed a strong distaste for alcohol.