Saccharin drinking rather than open field behaviour predicts initial ethanol acceptance in Wistar rats.

This study examined the relationship between saccharin drinking, open field behaviour and ethanol drinking in Wistar rats. Correlational analysis revealed that both absolute saccharin drinking and an increase in total fluid intake in the presence of saccharin positively correlated with the initial acceptance of increasing ethanol concentrations in a two-bottle choice situation (2-8% v/v ethanol vs water). This relationship disappeared, however, during further weeks of ethanol drinking when ethanol was available in a three-bottle choice situation (8% ethanol vs 16% ethanol vs water). In contrast, none of the behavioural parameters measured in the open field test (forward locomotion, rearings, central entries, time in central area) correlated with subsequent ethanol consumption. These results indicate that saccharin drinking, rather than open field parameters, may predict subsequent ethanol intake during the initial period of exposure to low ethanol concentrations.