After completion of the alcohol step-down procedure and 4 weeks of access to alcohol for 2 hours a day, all rats were given 3 cycles of alcohol drinking and imposed alcohol deprivation and were treated with either VAR or VEH during the first 5 consecutive days of reaccess to alcohol in each of the 3 cycles. Each cycle involved alcohol deprivation for 2 weeks followed by 2 weeks of alcohol reaccess.
