@article{ref1,
title="Commentary: studies on binge-like ethanol drinking may help to identify the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the transition to dependence",
journal="Alcoholism: clinical and experimental research",
year="2012",
author="Thiele, Todd E.",
volume="36",
number="2",
pages="193-196",
abstract="BACKGROUND: The goals of this commentary are to discuss the important contributions of the work by Kaur and colleagues titled &quot;Corticotropin-releasing factor acting on corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 1 is critical for binge alcohol drinking in mice,&quot; published in this issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, and to highlight the importance of preclinical research aimed at identifying the neurobiology of binge ethanol drinking. METHODS AND RESULTS: The work by Kaur and colleagues provides an important extension of previous pharmacological evidence implicating the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) type-1 receptor (CRF1R) in binge-like ethanol drinking by verifying the role of the CRF1R using genetic tools, and by establishing that CRF, but not urocortin 1 (Ucn1), is the primary neuropeptide associated with the CRF system that modulates binge-like ethanol drinking in C57BL/6J mice. CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that the evidence for a critical role of the CRF1R in excessive ethanol intake observed in both models of binge-like ethanol drinking and dependence-like ethanol intake indicates that overlapping mechanisms may be involved, and that studies that employ models of binge-like ethanol drinking may provide insight into the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie the transition to ethanol dependence.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0145-6008",
doi="10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01734.x",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01734.x"
}