Ethanol preference is inversely correlated with ethanol-induced dopamine release in 2 substrains of C57BL/6 mice.

Background: The C57BL/6 mouse model has been used extensively in alcohol drinking studies, yet significant differences in ethanol preference between substrains exist. Differences in ethanol-induced dopamine release in the ventral striatum could contribute to this variability in drinking behavior as dopamine has been implicated in the reinforcing properties of ethanol.

Methods: A 2-bottle choice experiment investigated the difference in ethanol preference between C57BL/6J and C57BL/6NCrl animals.