title: Genes and Alcohol Consumption: Studies with Mutant Mice.
abstract: In this chapter, we review the effects of global null mutant and overexpressing transgenic mouse lines on voluntary self-administration of alcohol. We examine approximately 200 publications pertaining to the effects of 155 mouse genes on alcohol consumption in different drinking models. The targeted genes vary in function and include neurotransmitter, ion channel, neuroimmune, and neuropeptide signaling systems. The alcohol self-administration models include operant conditioning, two- and four-bottle choice continuous and intermittent access, drinking in the dark limited access, chronic intermittent ethanol, and scheduled high alcohol consumption tests. Comparisons of different drinking models using the same mutant mice are potentially the most informative, and we will highlight those examples. More mutants have been tested for continuous two-bottle choice consumption than any other test; of the 137 mouse genes examined using this model, 97 (72%) altered drinking in at least one sex. Overall, the effects of genetic manipulations on alcohol drinking often depend on the sex of the mice, alcohol concentration and time of access, genetic background, as well as the drinking test.
authors.affiliation: Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mayfield
authors.affiliation: Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Arends
authors.affiliation: Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States. Electronic address: harris@austin.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.
authors.forename: Y A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Blednov
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000235:genetics*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D012646:Self Administration; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Continuous and intermittent two-bottle choice; Drinking in the dark; Global homozygous knockout; Knockin; Operant; Scheduled high alcohol consumption; Transgenic overexpression; Voluntary self-administration