An Animal Model of Alcohol Dependence to Screen Medications for Treating Alcoholism

Despite the high prevalence of alcohol use disorders in the United States, only a relatively small percentage of those afflicted seek treatment. This is further compounded by the fact that there are too few medications available to effectively treat this significant public health problem. The need for identifying and evaluating more effective treatments that aid in preventing relapse and/or tempering risky and harmful alcohol consumption cannot be overstated. Use of animal models represents a critical step in the process of screening, identifying, and informing plans for prioritizing the most promising candidate medications that can be advanced to the next stage of evaluation (clinical laboratory paradigms and controlled clinical trials). Numerous animal models have been developed to study excessive levels of alcohol self-administration. In recent years, a large literature has amassed of studies in which rodent models of dependence have been linked with alcohol self-administration procedures. This chapter focuses on studies employing a dependence model that involves chronic exposure to alcohol vapor by inhalation, which yields in both mice and rats significant escalation of voluntary alcohol consumption. These animal models of dependence and alcohol self-administration have revealed valuable insights about underlying mechanisms that drive excessive drinking. Additionally, this preclinical approach is useful in evaluating the effects of medications on escalated drinking associated with dependence vs more stable levels displayed by nondependent animals.