Animal Models Used to Study Alcohol Use Disorder

• For ethical and technical reasons, research in humans has some limitations and requires the support of animal models. Numerous animal models have been developed over the years to study alcohol consumption and model alcohol-related behaviors in several species, including non-human primates, rodents and more recently zebrafish, fruit flies and C. elegans. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the most commonly used animal models of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and discuss their pros and cons. We classify animal models of AUD into two main categories, operant and non-operant paradigms, which covers behavioral procedures developed to model several aspects of human addiction, including primary alcohol reinforcement, physical dependence, loss of control over alcohol intake, progressive choice of alcohol over healthy rewards and relapse. Finally, we will conclude and discuss about other important aspects of human addiction, including interindividual differences, sex differences and social factors, that need to be incorporated into preclinical models of AUD to improve their translational value.

Nyckelord

Alcohol use disorder

Animals

Preclinical models

Behavior

Reward

Motivation

Choice

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kap (ämneskategori)