Nest building is a novel method for indexing severity of alcohol withdrawal in XXXX .

@entity167 @entity19 @entity1068
UNASSIGNED: Withdrawal after chronic @entity1068 ( @entity167 ) affects body temperature, goal-directed behavior and motor function in @entity19 and increases general central nervous system excitability. Nest-building tests have been used to assay these states but to this point have not been employed as measures of @entity167 withdrawal severity. We first refined nest-scoring methods using a genetically heterogeneous stock of @entity19 (HS/Npt). @entity19 were then made physically dependent following three days of chronic @entity167 vapor inhalation to produce average blood @entity167 concentrations (BECs) of 1.89mg/mL. @entity167 withdrawal affected the progression of nest building over time when @entity19 were tested 2-4 days after removal from three days of chronic exposure to @entity167 . In a separate group of @entity19 , chronic @entity167 vapor inhalation (BECs 1.84mg/mL) suppressed nest building over days 1-2 but not days 2-3 of withdrawal. In a following experiment, @entity167 withdrawal dose-dependently slowed recovery of nest building for up to 32h. Finally, we determined that long-lasting nest-building deficits extend to @entity19 undergoing withdrawal from a high dose (4g/kg) of acute @entity167 . Sex differences for nest building were absent following @entity167 exposure. In @entity19 na  ve to @entity167 treatments, male @entity19 had lower pre-test body temperatures and increased nest scores across a two-day testing period compared to females. These results suggest that nest building can be used to assess chronic and acute @entity167 withdrawal severity in @entity19 .
