Substantial evidence implicating Ucn 1 in alcohol self-administration has been obtained in mouse experimental models. First, various alcohol drinking paradigms in mice have demonstrated preferential induction of c-Fos expression in pIIIu (Bachtell et al., 1999; Ryabinin et al., 2001; Ryabinin et al., 2003; Sharpe et al., 2005). Second, higher levels of Ucn 1 immunoreactivity in pIIIu were found in ethanol-naïve, C57BL/6J mice, an inbred strain with spontaneously high alcohol preference, than in alcohol-avoiding DBA/2J mice, which show low ethanol preference (Bachtell et al., 2002; Weitemier et al., 2005). Moreover, HAP1 and HAP2 mice, selectively bred to prefer alcohol, also show higher pIIIu Ucn 1 immunostaining than LAP1 and LAP2 mice, selectively bred to avoid alcohol (Bachtell et al., 2003).
