Development of an Ethanol Model Using Social Insects: II. Effect of Antabuse® on Consumatory Responses and Learned Behavior of the Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera L.)

Abstract

The ability of Antabuse® (disulfiram) to influence ethanol consumption and learning in harnessed honey bees was investigated. In the first series of experiments a factorial design was used with 5 levels of ethanol concentration (0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%), 4 doses of Antabuse® (0, 37 μg/g, 3.7 μg/g, .37 μg/g), and 2 testing intervals (1 min., 10 min.). Animals were fed a single 1 μl dose of Antabuse® and contact time with an ethanol solution measured. A second series of experiments investigated the influence of Antabuse® on the formation of Pavlovian conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex. A factorial design was used with two levels of training (paired, unpaired), three levels of ethanol (0%, 1%, 5%), and 2 levels of pretreatment (distilled water, 3.7 μg/g). Analysis of the consumption experiments indicate that pretreatment with Antabuse® reduces ethanol intake, although there was substantial variability. The findings of the Pavlovian experiments suggest that pretreatment with Antabuse® significantly reduced responding to a CS signaling the availability of ethanol.