Ethanol Intake on Preclinical Models: Methods of Assessment and Effects on Dopamine Signaling

PAUTASSI RM; WILLE-BILLE, ARANZA; FERNANDEZ M.; FABIO, M. C.

Dopaminergic System Function and Dysfunction: Experimental Approaches

Humana

Lugar: New York; Año: 2023; p. 163 - 181

Alcohol (ethanol) use is associated with significant health problems. This prompted efforts to recreate ethanol intake in murineanimal models. The present chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of several methods to assess ethanol selfadministration in these animal models. We then describe in detail a variant of a drinking-in-the-dark procedure, which exposes ratsto ethanol drinking in a single bottle of ethanol (concentration range 5?10%), 2 h a day, three times a week, thus mimicking someaspects of the intermittent access procedure. The involvement of the dopaminergic system in ethanol self-administration, and someconsequences of ethanol self-administration in this transmitter system, is then discussed.