ALCOHOL APPETITE--A NUTRIENT CONDITIONING ANALYSIS

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This project will investigate the appetite for alcohol from a nutrient-conditioning perspective. The potent pharmacological actions of alcohol in reinforcing many forms of behavior have been extensively investigated. Less is known about alcohol as a nutrient, particularly about its nutritionally-based reinforcing actions. Recent animal studies demonstrate that nutrients (carbohydrate, fat, protein) have positive (reinforcing) positingestive consequences that influence food choice and consumption by conditioning flavor preferences and acceptance. These preferences can be remarkably strong and persistent. Animals also learn to prefer flavors associated with the postingestive actions of alcohol at moderate doses, although at higher doses aversions rather than preferences may develop. The potency of alcohol as a reinforcer may result because it has both nutritive and pharmacological reinforcing actions. The specific aims of this project are to 1) evaluate the effectiveness of ethanol in conditioning flavor preferences using a variety of protocols; 2) evaluate the orosensory conditioned stimulus (flavor) in ethanol-conditioned preferences; and 3) compare the postingestive reinforcing effects of ethanol with those of other nutrients. This research involves the fields of psychobiology, pharmacology, nutrition and gastrointestinal physiology. It will advance our basic knowledge of the psychobiology of alcohol appetite and may provide practical benefits for controlling alcohol consumption in humans.