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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Oct 19.
Published in final edited form as: Neuron. 2016 Oct 6;92(2):493–504. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2016.09.029

Figure 1. Stress Increases Ethanol Self-administration.

Figure 1

A) Rats self-administered saccharin prior to fading ethanol into the drinking solution. Rats were subjected to a single restraint stress 15–20 hrs before the first ethanol exposure (red arrow). Daily fluid intake was measured in control and stressed rats. Stressed rats showed greater ethanol intake compared to unstressed control rats. **Significantly different from the control group by ANOVA with repeated measures, p < 0.01, n = 16–19 rats/group.

B) Ethanol intake (g/kg) vs blood ethanol levels (mg/dl). Blood ethanol was measured immediately after the self-administration session in control (black) and stressed (red) animals. A regression analysis showed a significant and positive correlation between ethanol intake and blood ethanol levels, F(1,13) = 162.7, p < 0.01.

C) Mean daily ethanol intake over the first 7 self-administration sessions. Stressed rats (red bar) consumed significantly more ethanol (g/kg) compared to control rats (black bar). Blockade of glucocorticoid receptors with RU486 systemically (dark blue, 40 mg/kg, i.p.) or locally in the VTA (light blue, 20 ng/1 ml) prior to stress prevented increases in ethanol intake, n = 10, 14. RU486 administered systemically or intra-VTA to control animals did not alter ethanol intake, n = 9, gray bar. **Significantly different from all groups by t-test, p < 0.01.