A number of different voluntary alcohol intake paradigms are available for home cage drinking studies. Traditionally these paradigms involve single housing in order for individual intake to be measured. This study aimed at investigating the effects of pair-housing on voluntary alcohol intake. Male and female Wistar rats were housed in pairs or individually for studies of voluntary alcohol intake using the modified intermittent access paradigm with alcohol access during three consecutive days per week followed by four days of water only. Individual intake of 20% alcohol solution and water was measured during 12 sessions, i.e. 4 weeks. Pair-housed animals could interact freely with their cage mate for four consecutive days each week and were then separated by an inserted mesh divider for three consecutive days each week during alcohol intake sessions. Alcohol intake and preference was compared between pair- and individually housed rats. The results revealed higher alcohol intake in females than in males. Pair-housed males had a higher alcohol intake and preference during the first three weeks compared to individually housed males that thereafter ceased. No effect of housing condition was observed in female rats. The alcohol intake was higher on the first day of access relative to the two consecutive days in pair-housed males and higher on the first two days relative to the third in female rats. Social rank or female estrus cycle had no effect on alcohol intake or preference. Taken together, the use of a divider during alcohol intake sessions had no impact on alcohol intake in female rats and may not exert long-term influences in male rats. Future studies are needed in order to elucidate if the use of a divider can constitute an experimental refinement as an alternative to individual housing in studies of voluntary alcohol intake using the limited and intermittent access paradigms.

中文翻译：

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配对住房对雄性和雌性Wistar大鼠自愿饮酒的影响。

许多不同的自愿饮酒范例可供家庭笼饮研究。传统上，这些范例涉及单个外壳，以便测量单个进气量。这项研究旨在调查配对住房对自愿饮酒的影响。将成对或雌性Wistar大鼠成对或成对饲养，以研究改良的间歇性进食范例，其中每周连续三天饮酒，然后仅饮水四天，以研究自愿饮酒。在12节（即4周）内测量了20％酒精溶液和水的单独摄入量。成对饲养的动物每周可以连续四天与笼伴侣自由互动，然后在饮酒期间每周三天被插入的网状分隔器隔开。在成对和单独饲养的大鼠之间比较了酒精摄入和偏好。结果表明，女性的酒精摄入量高于男性。与单独饲养的雄性相比，成对饲养的雄性在开始的三周内有更高的酒精摄入量和偏好。在雌性大鼠中未观察到住房条件的影响。在成对饲养的雄性大鼠中，进入第一天的酒精摄入量相对于连续两天较高，而在雌性大鼠中，头三天的酒精摄入量则相对于连续第三天较高。社会等级或女性发情周期对酒精摄入或偏爱没有影响。两者合计，在饮酒期间使用分隔器对雌性大鼠的饮酒量没有影响，并且可能不会对雄性大鼠产生长期影响。为了阐明在使用有限和间歇访问范式自愿饮酒的研究中，分隔器的使用是否可以构成实验性的改进以替代个人住房，需要进行进一步的研究。