A Study of Hereditary Differences in Rat Preference for Alcohol.

为了研究大鼠的遗传背景是否会影响其对酒精的偏好，使用一种允许大鼠自愿选择酒精的装置进行了一项基本实验。该装置被用来评估大鼠对酒精的偏好，该装置使用的是一个改进为单杠杆、双液体的系统的斯金纳盒子。也就是说，当一只大鼠按下斯金纳盒子墙上表面的杠杆时，位于墙中央的喷嘴会喷出一种交替的水或10%的酒精溶液。NEC(9800UM)制造的个人计算机连接到这个装置上，便于操作和控制，并用集成软件处理数据。我们选择了Wister品系、Long-Evans品系、Lewis品系和Fischer品系的大鼠来研究它们在酒精偏好上的差异。对品系大鼠的这种酒精偏好进行了调查，并获得了表现出高度酒精偏好的大鼠的频率。然后根据菌株对这些细菌进行分类。结果：1.Lewis品系和Wister品系大鼠出现酒精偏好的频率高于其他品系大鼠。Long-Evans菌株表现出最低的酒精偏好频率。2.选择同品系中酒精偏好最高的雄性和雌性大鼠。这些后代是近亲繁殖的，结果发现，后代比他们的父母对酒精的偏好率更高。3.研究还发现，当长期喂食酒精饮食(由含有酒精的液体饲料组成的饮食)时，大鼠对酒精的偏好会上升。

A basic experiment to investigate whether a rat's hereditary background affects preference for alcohol was preformed using an apparatus allowing rats to select alcohol voluntarily.An apparatus was employed to evaluate rat's preference for alcohol using a Skinner box that was improved to a one-lever, two-liquid delevery system. That is, it was so designed that when a rat pushes down on the lever in the surface of a wall in the Skinner's box, an alterating water or 10% alcohol solution will come out of the nozzle located in the center of the wall.A personal computer manufactured by NEC(9800UM) was connected to this apparatus allowing easy operation and control to be performed, and the data was processed by intergrated software.The Wister strain, Long-Evans strain, Lewis strain, and the Fischer strain of rats were selected to investigate for differences in alcohol preference. This preference for alcohol by strain of rat was investigated and frequencies obtained of rats apperaing to show a high preference for alcohol. These were then classified by strain. Results: 1. The frequency of appearance of preference for alcohol was higher in Lewis and Wister strain rats than the other strains. The long-evans strain showed the lowest frequency of alcohol preference. 2. Male and female rats with the highest preference for alcohol in the same strain were selected. These were made to inbreed and the resultant young were found to have higher rates of preference for alcohol than their parents. 3. It was also found that a rat's preference for alcohol will rise when they are chronically fed an alcohol diet(a diet consisting of liquid feed containing alcohol).