COMMON QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI FOR ALCOHOL-RELATED BEHAVIORS AND CNS NEUROTENSIN MEASURES - VOLUNTARY ETHANOL-CONSUMPTION

The C57BL/6, DBA/2, and recombinant inbred (RI) strains derived from t hem (BxD RIs) are the most frequently studied mouse strains with regar d to genetic regulation of voluntary ethanol consumption (VEC), We hav e studied VEC in an alternate genetic model provided by the LSxSS RIs, These RI strains exhibit phenotypic extremes in VEC comparable to the C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice and genotype-dependent sex differences in drin king behavior. A correlational analysis between various ethanol-relate d behaviors suggests genetic independence of VEC from high-dose neuros ensitivity (sleep time), acute ethanol tolerance, hypothermia, and low -dose locomotor activity, A search for quantitative trait loci identif ied a number of putative quantitative trait loci (QTL), three of which are identical to those previously reported for 10% ethanol drinking i n the BxD RIs, We also find a significant correlation between low-affi nity neurotensin receptor densities (NTRL) in the frontal cortex and V EC, and more common QTL between these two phenotypes than expected by chance. This suggests a role for frontal cortex NTRL in regulating vol untary ethanol intake.