LAUSR

Taurine is an amino acid usually added to energy drinks. In rodents, acute taurine administration decreases voluntary alcohol intake and sub chronic administration restores different behavioral features impaired by alcohol withdrawal. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of chronic taurine treatment on voluntary alcohol consumption and changes in behavioral parameters in rats. Adult Male Wistar rats were divided into two groups and left free to choose from two bottles containing alcohol 20% or saccharin 0.08% (vehicle solution), or two bottles containing vehicle, 24 h per day for five weeks. After three weeks, rats received 100 mg/kg taurine (TAU) or saline (SAL) intraperitoneally once a day for two weeks, and daily alcohol consumption was monitored. On days 22 and 33, rats were tested in the open-field, and on day 34, they were exposed to the light/dark task (LDT). Our results show for the first time that chronic taurine treatment enhanced voluntary alcohol intake and preference in rats, and these changes were accompanied by an anxiolytic-like phenotype in alcohol-treated rats, possibly due to its synergistic effect with alcohol on the dopaminergic and GABAergic systems.