Shock induced alcohol consumption in rats: role of initial preference.

In three experiments it was found that the effects of inescapable unavoidable shocks upon alcohol intake were dependent upon the initial preference displayed by the animal. When animals displayed a low initial preference for alcohol (Experiment 1) shock stress led to an increase in daily alcohol intake. When animals displayed a high initial preference for alcohol due to the addition of a preferred flavour (Experiment 2) or forced acclimation (Experiment 3) shock stress led to a decrease in daily alcohol intake. It is suggested that alcohol is consumed as a function of the punishing and discriminative properties of the shocks, not to alleviate stress through its pharmacological properties.