The ACB-shell and CeA are involved in mediating alcohol drinking behavior (Koob and Le Moal, 2008; Koob et al., 1998; McBride, 2002; McBride and Li, 1998; Roberts et al., 1996) and are good targets for determining neuronal changes that may occur as a consequence of alcohol drinking and contribute to the maintenance of high alcohol drinking. Because binge drinking is dangerous and could have serious consequences, it is important to understand the effects binge alcohol drinking has on brain functions. With binge-like drinking, in which daily intakes approach 6 g/kg and intakes for each of the 3 sessions are 1.5–2.0 g/kg (Fig. 1), significant effects on changes in gene expression were expected. With the 3 time points (1, 6 and 24 hr) combined, differences of 1.1- to 1.2- fold were observed in the ACB-shell of the ethanol group compared to the water group, suggesting that gene expression may be tightly regulated in this region.
