Pair‐housed male Wistar rats (Harlan CPB, Horst, Netherlands) 6 to 7 weeks old, weighing less than 200 g upon arrival, were habituated (2 weeks) and exposed to SDPS followed by an operant alcohol self‐administration (SA) paradigm, as previously described.20 In brief, SDPS animals (n = 48) were subjected to five 15‐minute daily social defeat sessions, based on the resident‐intruder protocol. Rats were transported to the resident housing room and placed inside a resident cage (defeat cage). A transparent, perforated Plexiglas partition wall was used to separate the residents from the intruders, allowing for sensory exchange but not for physical contact (prefight phase, 5 minutes). The wall was removed, and Wistar rats were then exposed to a 5‐minute fight phase, during which they were forced into submission. The defeat session concluded with an additional 5‐minute period, during which the partition wall was placed back, separating the resident from the intruder (postfight phase). A different resident was matched to each Wistar rat per day. Control rats (n = 32) were exposed to an empty defeat cage, once per day for a total
