Publication Date
2026
College
College of Sciences & Mathematics
Department
Biology, Department of
Presentation Type
Poster
Summary
Alcohol consumption has been observed through humans and vertebrates for centuries to understand reward systems and behavior. Carpenter Ants, a social invertebrate model, have many similarities with humans including communication, stress-induced behavior, and structured societies. Past research has shown that Carpenter ants can have increased preference to ethanol and opioids in low concentrations. However, there has been little research on how isolation can influence ethanol preference. In this study, Carpenter Ants are separated into social and isolation groups over a five-day period and offered ethanol solutions alongside a natural sucrose diet to assess behavioral differences in preference for ethanol. It is expected that isolation groups will demonstrate a higher preference for ethanol compared to the social groups due to stress-related changes associated with minimized social interaction. Alternatively, it is expected that socially housed ants will demonstrate lower ethanol preference. Understanding how isolation influences preference for ethanol in a social invertebrate model may provide understanding into the effects of isolation on substance-related behavior in humans.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Gregory and Pope, Rivers, "Observing Effects of Social Isolation on Ethanol Preference in Carpenter Ants" (2026). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 740.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/740
