Low-level continuous amphetamine administration selectively increases alcohol consumption.

Rats dramatically increased alcohol preference following the subcutaneous implantation of slow-release d-amphetamine pellets, so long as access to ethanol was withheld during the initial 6 days after pellet implantation. This increased ethanol preference was not due to a conditioned flavor aversion, nor to increased caloric intake, nor to alcohol deprivation. d-Amphetamine must be administered in a continuous fashion in order to obtain this effect, for daily injections of the same amount of the drug did not increase ethanol intake. This increased ethanol preference is interpreted as self-medication. This effect may provide a new animal model for the tension-reduction theory of ethanol intake.