Ethanol withdrawal: altered ambient temperature selection in rats.

SUMMARY Ethanol withdrawal in rats previously on an ethanol-containing diet for 6 wk resulted in prolonged (4–6 days) alteration in ambient temperature selection. When placed in a T-maze with a cold (2° C), a neutral (19° C), and a warm (30° C) alley, control and ethanol-imbibing animals chose to remain in the neutral alley. In contrast, during and up to 6 days after ethanol withdrawal, animals consistently preferred the warm alley of the T-maze. The withdrawal animals showed less locomotor activity, but lack of mobility, differences in body temperature, and direct disturbances in central monoamines probably were not responsible for the warm-alley preference. Impaired ambient temperature selection was less if animals were on the ethanol-containing diet for only 2 wk. It is suggested that longer lasting hormonal and/or metabolic derangements were possibly responsible for the impaired ambient temperature selection by animals undergoing withdrawal from ethanol.