Alcohol exposure impairs the structure of, and function dependent on, the hippocampus (Abe et al., 2004; Beresford et al., 2006; Morrisett and Swartzwelder, 1993; Sullivan et al., 1995; Sullivan et al., 2000; Walker et al., 1980) and frontal cortex (Bechara et al., 2001; De Bellis et al., 2005; Langen et al., 2002; Miguel-Hidalgo, 2005), but the underlying cellular mechanisms contributing to these deleterious effects are unclear. Various alcohol administration paradigms, including forced acute and chronic exposure and voluntary chronic exposure, have demonstrated alcohol-induced changes in adult hippocampal neurogenesis (for review, see (Nixon, 2006), a phenomenon implicated in maintaining hippocampal structure, integrity, and function (Brown et al., 2003a; Kempermann, 2002; Markakis and Gage, 1999; Ramirez-Amaya et al., 2006). However, little is known about the impact of alcohol on prefrontal cortical plasticity, a brain region injured by alcohol abuse (Bechara et al., 2001; De Bellis et al., 2005). Clinically relevant animal models of alcohol drinking and dependence are seldom used in investigations of alcohol on neural plasticity but could help clarify the functional significance of the effects of alcohol on the brain.
