Experimental Models of Alcohol Use Disorder and Their Application for Pathophysiological Investigations

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a complex disorder characterized by compulsive alcohol use and a lack of control over alcohol intake. Several experimental methods using mouse models have been developed to improve research regarding this disorder. Mouse behavioral paradigms are advantageous in inducing alcohol dependence and evaluating alcohol intake, circumventing ethical issues, and increasing experimental control over human-based experiments. These behavioral methods typically fall under one of two categories: forced exposure and voluntary consumption. This paper highlights two common paradigms used to study AUD in rodent models: one forced exposure method (use of a vapor inhalation system for alcohol exposure) and one voluntary consumption method (the two-bottle choice procedure). The effectiveness and experimental validity of these behavioral paradigms for pathophysiological investigations of AUD and how they can be combined are also discussed, along with their individual strengths and weaknesses. © 2023 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Vapor inhalation for exposure to alcohol Basic Protocol 2: Intermittent access two-bottle choice procedure (acquisition) Basic Protocol 3: Intermittent access two-bottle choice procedure (measurement) Alternate Protocol: Sucrose fading to encourage voluntary alcohol consumption.