and less alcohol during continuous access [22]. Whilst these findings imply an involvement of the α2-subunit in ethanol drinking, they are difficult to interpret without further investigations of factors such as taste reactivity, withdrawal or motivational effects. Given the regional distribution of the α2-subunit, it is perhaps not surprising that motivated drinking, as measured by operant self-administration, is unaffected by its deletion. In contrast to psychostimulants, lesions of the striatum (where the α2-subunit is heavily expressed) do not affect motivation to consume ethanol [38], [39]. Instead, it has been suggested that the ventral pallidum may be more important in maintaining ethanol drinking, consistent with a role of the GABAA α1-subunit [40], [41] which is more abundant within this region.
