Sensory-motor response elicited by first time intraoral administered ethanol after trigeminal neuropathic injury

Recent findings have shown a relationship between alcohol use disorders (AUD) and chronic pain. Preclinical models have demonstrated that chronic pain, including trigeminal nerve injury, increases ethanol consumption throughout extended administration periods. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether chronic pain induces a greater susceptibility to developing AUD by altering motor control consumption regardless of the symptomatology of neuropathic pain, and whether sex influences this susceptibility. We used a former prolonged pain experience model induced by a constriction of the mental nerve (mNC) to answer this question. We analyzed ethanol consumption in a short-access protocol to reduce the post-ingestional effects and compared licking microstructure between groups. The constriction of the mental nerve induced evoked and spontaneous pain and reduction in the hedonic value of sucrose. The differences in alcohol consumption were not reflective of the former prolonged pain experience. Female mice showed a more efficient dynamic of consumption of alcohol, reflected in a long burst of licking and a less variable licking rate within a cluster.