Use of a Fitbit-like device in rats: Sex differences, relation to EEG sleep, and use to measure the long-term effects of adolescent ethanol exposure.

A Fitbit-like device can be successfully used in rats to assess rest-activity cycles. Adolescent alcohol exposure produced circadian rhythm disturbances that were not observed after withdrawal. Fragmentation of ultradian rest-activity cycles during the light period was found at 24 h and 4 weeks after withdrawal and support data demonstrating the presence of sleep disturbance long after alcohol withdrawal.