and intake [29]. The genetic influence on these traits is shown as a heat-map for chromosome 17 (Figure 3A), which also depicts the location of the Alk locus and apparent Alk cis-regulation of expression in two brain regions, the hippocampus and striatum. Alk expression in the hippocampus and striatum is higher in strains with the DBA/2J genotype at the Alk locus. Moreover, higher Alk expression in striatum strongly correlates with decreased ethanol intake (Figure 3B), whereas higher Alk expression in the hippocampus correlates with increased sensitivity to the ataxic effect of ethanol (Figure 3C). Together, these data suggest that Alk may be involved in behavioral responses to ethanol in mice.
