Flavor and location aversions produced by ethanol

To test the possibility that ethanol might "simultaneously" be rewarding and punishing, male albino rats received five conditioning trials wherein access to saccharin was followed by injection of ethanol (1.5 g/kg) and placement in a distinctive compartment for 30 min. On alternate days, they were exposed to a second compartment without injection. Control rats received a similar treatment except that access to saccharin never preceded ethanol injection. Aversions were established to both flavor and location, and flavor did not interfere with conditioning of location aversion. Thus, ethanol appeared to have a uniformly negative effect.