Figure 6.

Gabapentin reverses ethanol-induced increases in anxiety-like behavior produced by acute bolus injection of ethanol. The data reflect mean (± SEM) percent time spent in the open arms of an elevated plus maze during a 5-min test. Control rats spent approximately 30% of the time in the open arms, and values that fall below controls reflect an increase in anxiety-like behavior because those animals spent less time in the open arms. We injected rats with either 10% w/v ethanol (3 g/kg, i.p.) or an equivalent volume of saline. Ten hours later, we placed rats in the center of the plus-maze and recorded time spent in the open and closed arms. Thirty minutes prior to plus maze testing, separate groups of rats were injected with various doses of gabapentin (0, 30, 60, or 120 mg/kg, i.p.; n = 8−10 per dose). Ethanol produced an increase in anxiety-like behavior that was dose-dependently reversed by pretreatment with gabapentin, whereas gabapentin did not affect anxiety-like behavior in saline-injected controls; *p < 0.05 relative to saline control at same gabapentin dose; # p < 0.01 relative to ethanol-treated animals injected with vehicle.