Biology and Life Sciences Forum (Nov 2023)

Rat Strain-Specific Differences in Alcohol Intake Following Patterned Feeding of a Palatable Diet

  • Brooke White,
  • Sabrina Pham,
  • John Michael Houeye,
  • Kaiyah Rush,
  • Sunil Sirohi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/IECN2023-15821
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 29, no. 1
p. 24

Abstract

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A total of 29.5 million people aged 12 and older met the diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD) in the United States in 2021, which presents a significant social and economic burden to modern society. Impaired nutritional status has been frequently documented in patients with AUDs and could contribute to escalated alcohol consumption and behavioral impairments commonly observed in AUD. Interestingly, increased highly palatable food intake during recovery has been reported in patients with AUD, suggesting the importance of understanding the relationship between palatable food and problematic alcohol drinking. We have previously shown that patterned feeding of a palatable diet attenuated alcohol drinking in Long Evans rats. The present study evaluated the impact of patterned feeding on high and low alcohol drinking. Individually housed male high-drinking (P), moderate-drinking (Long Evans), and low-drinking (Wistar) rats received intermittent access (24 h, Tuesdays, and Thursdays) to a nutritionally complete high-fat diet (Int-HFD) or standard chow (controls). Normal chow and water were available ad libitum to all groups of rats. Intermittent HFD access induced a feeding pattern in which the Int-HFD group of rats escalated their caloric intake on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Two weeks of Int-HFD pre-exposure preceded any alcohol access, after which all rats were given unsweetened alcohol (20% v/v) in their home cages via a two-bottle choice paradigm of voluntary alcohol drinking. Alcohol was available for 24 h on chow-only days (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) while Int-HFD feeding continued. Long Evans rats receiving the Int-HFD displayed a significant ~50% reduction in alcohol drinking when compared to controls. The Int-HFD group of P rats also reduced their alcohol intake significantly (p p > 0.05) by intermittent HFD exposure. These data highlight rat strain-specific differences in alcohol intake following patterned feeding of a palatable diet and identify Long Evans rats as an ideal model to evaluate the impact of palatable diet on alcohol drinking.

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