Electric barrier-induced voluntary abstinence reduces alcohol seeking in male, but not female, iP rats.

Abstract

Maintaining abstinence and preventing relapse are key to the successful recovery from alcohol use disorder. There are two main ways individuals with alcohol use disorder abstain from alcohol use: forced (e.g., incarceration) and voluntary. Voluntary abstinence is often evoked due to the negative consequences associated with excessive alcohol consumption. This study investigated relapse-like behavior to alcohol seeking following acute, forced, and voluntary abstinence. Male rats had increased operant self-administration responding throughout training compared to females; however, females consumed greater amounts of alcohol in g/kg. Both male and female rats achieved voluntary abstinence, whic..