underpinnings of alcohol-related phenotypes have focused on mice, because, in contrast to rats, they can be more easily genetically manipulated. Mice are amenable to complete elimination of the gene of interest, gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi), overexpression and mutagenic technologies [68]. Numerous genetic models have been developed to investigate specific aspects of alcoholism in mice, including tolerance, withdrawal, motivational effects and high-dose sensitivity [68]. Over 90% of the mouse and human genomes can be partitioned into regions of synteny [69].
