In the study, the researchers found that mice bred without D2 dopamine receptors voluntarily drank about half as much alcohol as did their normal littermates when they were given a choice of alcohol or tap water. "The altered mice actually show an aversion for alcohol, whereas their normal littermates show a preference," says Phillips. The researchers also found that the altered mice show a reduced sensitivity to alcohol. "The normal littermates show reduced locomotion following an injection of alcohol while the locomotion of the mutant mice did not change," says Phillips. "In addition, the normal littermates show increased stumbling and the mutant mice show this effect to a much smaller degree."

In future studies, the scientists plan to determine if the altered animals' dip in drinking is due to a loss of pleasure, since dopamine is a major component of the brain's reward pathways.

Phillips is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, an organization of more than 27,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.

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Contact: Leah Ariniello
leah@sfn.org
202-462-6688
Society for Neuroscience
20-Oct-1998