There is a well-established link between ethanol intake and orexigenic peptides known to be related to dietary fat and circulating lipids (see Introduction). In addition to being stimulated by fat intake and Intralipid, the expression of OX in the PFLH is stimulated by ethanol and is closely related to levels of TG (Chang et al., 2004; Lawrence et al., 2006; Wortley et al., 2003). Results from the present study provide further support for this positive relationship between fat intake, ethanol intake, TG and OX. Administration of gemfibrozil, which lowers TG levels, is found to reduce OX mRNA expression in the PFLH. This finding supports the hypothesis that the decrease in ethanol intake produced by gemfibrozil is mediated by a decrease in OX expression in the PFLH, resulting from a decline in TG. This hypothesis is substantiated by previous studies showing that Intralipid, which increases circulating TG and OX expression in the PFLH, has a stimulatory effect on ethanol drinking in rats (Carrillo et al., 2004; Chang et al., 2004). Direct evidence for a positive relationship between OX and ethanol is
