Finding a phenotype that is related to alcohol dependence (AD) and comparable across humans, mice, and flies was central to this analysis. While AD cannot be accurately modeled in mice and flies, acute response to ethanol ingestion is similar between these organisms, and in humans, alcohol response is predictive of later AUD development (Erblich and Earleywine 1999; Pollock 1992; Quinn and Fromme 2011; Schuckit and Smith 1996; Schuckit and Smith 2000; Schuckit et al. 2000; Schuckit et al. 1996). We compared locomotor responses to ethanol: body sway in humans, ataxia in mice, and locomotor activity in flies.
