Although 24-hr free-choice ethanol access is not regimented in the same manner as the MSA procedure, the same routine of body and fluid measurements are used each day and, based upon the results between the MSA and W groups, the expectation is that the genetic machinery of the CA group would also adjust to chronic ethanol-drinking conditions, with a corresponding modest number of gene expression changes. The chronic ethanol-drinking conditions experienced by the CA group should produce tolerance (Gatto et al., 1987; Lumeng and Li, 1986; Stewart et al., 1991) and possibly dependence (Kampov-Polevoy et al., 2000; Waller et al., 1982). Even though similar studies have yet to be conducted with P rats consuming ethanol under MSA conditions, it is anticipated that tolerance, and possibly dependence, would also develop in the MSA group, because BACs of 80 mg% or greater are expected during each ethanol access session, when using the present MSA protocol (Bell et al., 2006b, 2008; Murphy et al., 2002). Gene expression was measured 15 hr after the MSA group's last drinking episode when ethanol was also removed
