Losing social rank left alcohol seeking unchanged in a rat experiment
A peer-reviewed experiment in male and female rats found no significant change in tested alcohol-related behaviours after loss of social dominance. Researchers altered contest outcomes and then assessed alcohol seeking, motivation and persistence despite an adverse consequence. Social rank also showed no significant relationship with the emotional measures used in a separate animal group.
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A change in rank left alcohol measures stable
Social dominance and its loss showed no statistically significant effect on the alcohol-related behaviours examined in a peer-reviewed rat experiment. Researchers assessed male and female Wistar rats separately. Animals whose social position changed later showed similar alcohol seeking, effort to obtain an alcohol reward and persistence despite an adverse consequence. The result describes these laboratory animals under the particular conditions of the experiment.[1]
Contest outcomes shifted after status loss
Rank was based on success in encounters between pairs of rats. Initial winning tendencies remained stable when one group was tested again a month later. A manipulation changed the later success of formerly dominant animals. A separate group was assessed for anxiety-like behaviour, interest in other rats, preference for sweetened water and alcohol drinking. Changing rank showed no significant difference in those emotional measures.[1]
Sex differences appeared in effort for alcohol
Male rats reached higher effort requirements for an alcohol reward. Females showed a tendency towards greater resistance to adverse consequences, but that difference was not statistically significant. The animals had free access to food and water and did not develop physical dependence through voluntary drinking. Resource competition and complex human forms of social standing therefore lay outside the setting represented by this animal model.[1]
