Background-Adolescence is a period of elevated alcohol consumption in humans as well as in animal models. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that adolescent Sprague-Dawley rats consume approximately 2 times more ethanol on a gram per kilogram basis than adult animals in a 2-bottle choice free-access situation. The purpose of the present study was to examine the time course and pattern of elevated ethanol intake during adolescence and the adolescent-to-adult transition, contrast this intake with ontogenetic patterns of food and water intake, and determine whether adolescent access to ethanol elevates voluntary consumption of ethanol in adulthood.
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