Voluntary Alcohol Consumption in Animals: Peripheral and Intracerebral Factors

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the methodological problems and research findings related to volitional ethanol consumption in animals. The topics discussed include the concept of ethanol preference and the various self-selection methods for testing ethanol preference, such as the two-bottle test and several multiple selection methods. A critique also is presented of the physiological and psychological factors which may govern ethanol selection, including two of the sensory components of drinking (taste and smell), acclimation to ethanol, stress, genetic and nutritional variables, and the recent results pertaining to the biochemical alteration of the central nervous system by the chronic injection of ethanol into the brain.