# Motivated Binge and High-Intensity Drinking in Selected Rat Lines

> **NIH NIH P60** · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · 2024 · $216,766

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Understanding the neural circuitry that underlies binge and high intensity drinking (BHID) requires an animal
model that reliably expresses this behavior voluntarily. The alcohol-preferring P rats and the High Alcohol
Drinking HAD rats (both rodent models of a human family history of alcohol use disorder; AUD) have
behavioral profiles prior to any alcohol exposure that suggest two different pathways to AUD: the P rats are
prone to emit behavior, impulsive, and reinforcer-driven; by contrast the HADs are less likely to emit behavior,
not impulsive, and more anxious. In addition, our preliminary data show that the lines and sexes display
different BHID-like intake patterns. Therefore, P and HAD rats show distinct phenotypes that correspond with
“reward” and “relief” drinking, respectively— two risk phenotypes in humans. The objective of this proposal is to
identify hypothesized pathologies in specific neural pathways regulating BHID-like consumption that
correspond to circuits thought to support reward and relief drinking (prefrontal cortex to nucleus accumbens;
prefrontal cortex to basolateral amygdala). Specifically, this proposal will utilize the combination of (i) animal
models of behaviorally divergent AUD risk in which we (ii) employ tract tracing to reveal key differential circuits
between the lines (iii) that we will in turn manipulate to bidirectionally drive both behavioral impulsivity and
BHID behavior. The significance of this Center Component is that it will discover critical novel mechanisms in
the structure and function of the circuitry regulating endophenotypic risk behaviors (using the stop signal
reaction time task) and alcohol-seeking and BHID (using the operant seeking/drinking paradigm). Moreover,
from these findings, and in conjunction with other IARC projects, we may ultimately learn the underlying
mechanisms for these traits that contribute to the progression to an AUD. Particularly in an era of “precision
medicine”, where drug efficacy can be dependent upon different genetic profiles and drinking patterns, an
understanding of different, genetically-influenced pathways to alcohol dependence must precede development
of effective AUD treatment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10757913
- **Project number:** 5P60AA007611-37
- **Recipient organization:** INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
- **Principal Investigator:** CRISTINE L CZACHOWSKI
- **Activity code:** P60 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $216,766
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1989-12-01 → 2027-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10757913

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10757913, Motivated Binge and High-Intensity Drinking in Selected Rat Lines (5P60AA007611-37). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10757913. Licensed CC0.

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