On the interrelation between alcohol addiction-like behaviors in rats.

Rationale. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a complex, heterogeneous disorder that only occurs in a minority of alcohol users. Various behavioral constructs, including excessive intake, habit formation, motivation for alcohol and resistance to punishment have been implicated in AUD, but their interrelatedness is unclear. Objective. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the relation between these AUD-associated behavioral constructs in rats. We hypothesised that a subpopulation of animals could be identified that, based on these measures, display consistent AUD-like behavior. Methods. Lister Hooded rats (n = 47) were characterised for alcohol consumption, habit formation, motivation for alcohol and quinine-adulterated alcohol consumption. The interrelation between these measures was evaluated through correlation and cluster analyses. In addition, addiction severity scores were computed using different combinations of the behavioral measures, to assess the consistency of the AUD-like subpopulation. Results. We found that the data was uniformly distributed, as there was...