Dr. Nicholas Grahame and colleagues at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis have selectively bred mice that prefer drinking alcohol and apparently binge drink. Until now, other mice would choose water over alcohol. These inebriated mice are the first model of severe human alcoholism that not only models the blood alcohol levels, but also the behavior. Researchers are using these mice to try to understand the mechanisms driving the mice to drink and the pathology of alcoholism in the brain. The goal is to develop therapies to treat alcoholism in humans.
It is a good thing mice can't drive.
Source:
Jef Akst, The Scientist
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