In an initial study from our laboratory, Bell et al. (2006a) examined protein expression changes in the ACB and amygdala of iP rats given 24-hr continuous access (CA) or multiple scheduled access (MSA; four 1-hr sessions during the dark cycle) to ethanol for 6 weeks. The results of this study indicated that ethanol drinking conditions differentially changed protein expression in the ACB and amygdala. However, a relatively insensitive 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis procedure was used in this study and only the most abundant proteins found in tissue from the whole ACB or amygdala could be detected. The microarray procedure offers a potentially more sensitive method to measure changes resulting from ethanol drinking under different conditions of availability, which produce different patterns of ethanol intake and associated blood alcohol levels (c.f., Bell et al., 2006a, 2006b). Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine changes in gene expression associated with chronic ethanol drinking under binge-like ethanol drinking conditions. For comparison purposes, the effects of 24-hr free-choice drinking on gene expression were also determined. Gene expression changes were determined the next day
