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Brain Energy Consumption in Ethanol-Treated, Long-Evans Rats¹

Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, Illinois 60064

The cerebral metabolic rate of glucose utilization (CMR_Glc) was measured in rats fed liquid diets containing ethanol for 8 wk, after removal of ethanol from the diet and after acute ethanol intoxication. Control rats were pair fed the liquid diets containing isoenergetic amounts of dextrin-maltose. Quantitative autogradiography using [6-¹⁴C]glucose measured CMR_Glc at the level of individual structures. Digital image techniques created stereograms of brain energy consumption from the autoradiographs. These techniques provided information about CMR_Glc throughout the brain. Rats given the ethanol liquid diet drank constantly throughout the day and night. Neuropathological examination of brain revealed no abnormalities from ethanol consumption. Acute ethanol administration to control rats produced a decrease in CMR_Glc throughout the brain that was most prominent in structures concerning auditory, visual, memory and motor functions. Chronic ethanol consumption did not reduce CMR_Glc to the same degree as acute ethanol intoxication; in fact, it affected only a few structures. The removal of ethanol from chronic ethanol-treated rats for a period of 18 h caused CMR_Glc to rise above control values throughout the brain. However, there were no seizures or other evidence of brain dysfunction.

KEY WORDS: • glucose utilization • ethanol • brain metabolism • ethanol withdrawal • rats

¹ Supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism AA 06023.

² Present address: Departamento de Bioquimica y Biologia Molecular, Facultad de Medicina, Universitat de Valencia, Valencia-46010, Spain.

³ Present address: Department of Pathology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, 500 University Drive, Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, USA.

⁴ To whom correspondence should be addressed at: University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064.

Manuscript received 14 June 1990. Revision accepted 30 October 1990.