The circumstances and manner in which stress influences alcohol drinking behavior has been extensively studied in humans and animal models (Brady and Sonne, 1999; Pohorecky, 1990, 1991; Sillaber and Henniger, 2004; Sinha, 2001, 2008). Over several decades, a wide array of animal models and experimental procedures have been employed in addressing this important issue. Unfortunately, this large body of literature has yielded equivocal results, most likely due to differences in a number of variables including genetic and other biological factors, environmental conditions, and a host of experimental procedural differences (Becker et al., 2011; Noori et al., 2014; Spanagel et al., 2014).
