of ethanol (5 months) by rats increased the levels of [3H]-nicotinic binding in the hypothalamus and thalamus, and decreased the levels in the hippocampus (Yoshida et al., 1982). In ethanol-treated (6 months) mice, small changes in [3H]-nicotinic binding were found only in the thalamus and in just one of the mice strains tested, leading the authors to conclude this effect is brain region specific and genetic factors may influence this response (Booker and Collins, 1997). These effects were not seen in mouse brains following short-term (1–2 weeks) ethanol treatment (Burch et al., 1988; de Fiebre and Collins, 1993).
