The Effects of Ethyl Alcohol on Maze Behaviour and Motor Co-Ordination of Rats. 2. the Assessment of Degrees of Intoxication

Abstract

A previous communication (Carpenter and MacLeod, 1952) described the application of a maze, together with a simple test of limb co-ordination, to the study of alcoholic intoxication in rats, as modified by acetaldehyde. As part of a scheme of work here, it was desired to observe the effect of drugs and other substances upon the degree of intoxication produced in rats by ethyl alcohol. Such studies, pursued by the methods previously given, soon led to a formidable mass of recorded material, some features of which were not adequately dealt with by the scoring technique employed. It became necessary to adopt a scoring system which would give an overall indication of the various manifestations of alcoholic intoxication, to serve for the purpose of compact tabulation of results and the drawing of conclusions.