Ethanol dependence and the pituitary adrenal axis in mice. II. Temporal analysis of dependence and withdrawal.

The effects of ethanol dependence and withdrawal on pituitary hormone content and corticosterone release were investigated in AKR/J male mice in a vapor chamber. Both chronic ethanol inhalation and ethanol withdrawal were associated with increased adenohypophyseal-adrenocortical activity. Operationally, ethanol exposure was a stressor. Both physical dependence and withdrawal led to increased secretion/synthesis ratios of peptide hormones. The temporal pattern of pituitary ACTH-IR content changes was different from that of beta-endorphin-IR and alpha-MSH-IR. Differences in the pattern of ACTH-IR and alpha-MSH-IR most probably represent lobe-specific differences in the response to chronic ethanol exposure and withdrawal.