Age of first alcohol exposure is strongly associated with later patterns of alcohol consumption; i.e., the earlier the contact with the drug, the higher the possibility of later alcohol abuse. Yet, it remains to be determined whether this association is causal (Hawkins et al., 1997; Pedersen & Skrondal, 1998). Alcohol intake in humans usually starts during adolescence, with recent data indicating that approximately 28% of underage drinkers started around age 13 (Faden, 2006). Beyond casual use, heavy drinking is also widespread, with 30% of 12th graders reporting they had been drunk at least once in the last 30-days (Johnston et al., 2007). Why do adolescents consume alcohol and why are they so predisposed to binge drinking? Answering this question has been troublesome, as long as experimental behavioral research in humans is limited by obvious ethical and legal constraints (Witt, 1994). However, substantial progress was made during the last decade, thanks to a surge in the employment of experimental animal models (Spear & Molina, 2005; Spear & Varlinskaya, 2005).
