The role of glucoregulation in alcohol intake

grantor: University of TorontoThe glucostatic theory has been implicated in controlling feeding behavior in experimental animals. Since alcohol is a food substance, alcohol intake may also be regulated by a glucostatic mechanism. Naive Wistar rats drinking alcohol and water under the limited access procedure provide a model of human alcohol consumption used in this thesis to explore the role of glucoregulatory processes in alcohol intake. Peripheral glucose injections and ATP did not reduce alcohol consumption. Although glucose utilization was increased after glucose injections in the chronically food-deprived rats, glucose injections again did not attenuate alcohol intake. Endogenously elevated blood glucose had no effect on alcohol consumption in the streptozotocin-induced diabetes. The glycogenolytic inhibitor, trifluoperazine and the ATP synthesis inhibitor, 2,4-dinitrophenol were found to have no effect on the naltrexone-induced reduction of alcohol intake. Although an inverse relationship was found between the blood glucose and alcohol intake using two $\alpha\sb2$-adrenoceptor antagonists, the results from idazoxan were not robust. Taken together, these findings suggest that glucoregulatory processes do not play a role in the control of alcohol intake.M.Sc