A line of laboratory mice developed by a researcher from the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis drinks more alcohol than other animal models and consumes it in a fashion similar to humans: choosing alcohol over other options and binge drinking.
Animal models previously available to alcohol abuse and alcoholism researchers do not get as drunk as the new strain, unless alcohol is the only choice of fluids, or alcohol is administered by the experimenter. When given the option, previously bred mouse lines continue to drink water even when they can select alcohol.
These new mice, selectively bred over 40 generations at the School of Science at IUPUI to prefer alcohol over all other choices, will help researchers explore new aspects of the behavioral and genetic determinants of alcoholism.
In a study published online ahead of print in the journal Addiction Biology on Nov. 29, senior author Nicholas Grahame, associate professor of psychology in the School of Science at IUPUI, reports on the mice he has bred since 1997. The rodents reach blood-alcohol levels of more than 260 mg/dl of alcohol daily, over three times the equivalent of the human legal driving limit and the approximate consumption level that the severest human alcoholics attain. > > > > Read More
