Explorative and drinking behavior after prolonged access to alcohol and following chronic piracetam administration in mice

Male mice with free access to food, water, and alcohol for 44 weeks were deprived of alcohol for 3 days and then segregated into two groups having (HD) and lacking (LD) the alcohol deprivation-induced elevation in intake. On week 47, the HD and LD groups (divided into subgroups matched for drinking) received either vehicle or piracetam (400 mg/kg) for 10 days. On the last treatment day, alcohol was again withheld. Cross-maze exploration and drinking pattern were evaluated on the first and third postinjection days. Control mice, having had no previous access to alcohol, were subjected to the same treatment and tests. There were a greater number of vehicle-treated HDs displaying arm reentries than LDs or alcohol-naive control mice. Further, the control mice drank less alcohol than HDs during the first 1.5 h of renewal access, and more water than the HD or LD group during the remaining 22.5 h. Piracetam improved maze patrolling and arm reentries in alcohol-naive mice, but did not change these measures in HDs and LDs. No effect of piracetam on drinking parameters was revealed.