Animal models of alcohol's motivational effects

Alcohol's positive and negative motivational effects are believed to be imp ortant influences on alcohol-seeking behavior and, therefore, key factors a mong the many and varied causes of alcohol abuse and dependence. Alcohol's positive effects, such as enhanced mood, and negative effects, such as hang over, are considered important factors in motivating drinkers to increase o r decrease their drinking, Scientists have developed a variety of animal be havioral models to study alcohol's motivational effects. These models inclu de "self-administration models," in which the animal controls the exposure to alcohol, and "conditioning models," in which the researcher controls the animal's exposure to alcohol. Such models have been used to study the infl uence of genetic differences on sensitivity to alcohol's positive and negat ive motivational effects, the brain mechanisms underlying alcohol's motivat ional effects, as well as relapse and craving.