Alcohol dependence is a debilitating disorder for the individual and very costly for society. Because alcoholism is such a complex disease, animal models are used to mimic components of the disease. Alcoholism is defined by cycles of intoxication and abstinence, resulting in the compulsion to drink alcohol, loss of control in limiting intake, and emergence of negative emotional states. These studies focused on behaviors during protracted abstinence in rats genetically and environmentally susceptible to alcohol dependence. Specifically, rats selectively bred for high alcohol preference were tested for anxiety-like behaviors, and genetically heterogeneous rats were made dependent on alcohol and tested for relapse behavior. Neuropeptide Y (NPY), an endogenous anxiolytic, was tested for its effects on these behaviors. Anxiety-like behavior was suppressed by NPY regardless of alcohol exposure history. However, NPY suppressed alcohol drinking only in rats that underwent cycles of abstinence. These results suggest that dysregulation of brain NPY systems is an important motivational factor that drives alcohol consumption in vulnerable subpopulations of drinkers.

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