The obese rodent provides an interesting experimental model for work in the area of alcoholism as well as obesity and diabetes in that some strains show increased alcohol preference that appears to be related to their degree of diabetes. We have begun studying several strains of obese mice in order to further characterize the pharmacological defects underlying these observations. In particular we have investigated the effect of electroconvulsive shock (ECS) on blood sugar levels since this treatment has been reported to improve glucose levels in diabetic humans. It was of interest to see whether ECS would also be an effective antidiabetic agent in this animal model prior to investigating its actions on alcohol intake. Furthermore, since abnormalities of serotonin function have been reported in alcoholics as well as in mice made diabetic by destruction of pancreatic islet cells we plan to study the actions of serotonin active drugs (eg. uptake blockers and agonists) on diabetic control, of glucose metabolism, body weight and body temperature in these animals. These peripheral measures will be correlated with indices of central serotonin functions.
