“Drinking in the Dark” (DID): A Simple Mouse Model of Binge‐Like Alcohol Intake

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges that scientists face when studying the neurobiology and/or genetics of alcohol (ethanol) consumption is that most pre-clinical animal models do not voluntarily consume enough ethanol to achieve pharmacologically meaningful blood ethanol concentrations (BECs). Recent rodent models have been developed that promote binge-like levels of ethanol consumption associated with high BECs (i.e., 100 mg/dl or higher). This paper describes procedures for an animal model of binge-like ethanol drinking which has come to be called "drinking in the dark" (DID). The "basic" variation of DID involves replacing the water bottle with a bottle containing 20% ethanol for 2 to 4 hours, beginning 3 hours into the dark cycle, on cages of singly-housed C57BL/6J mice. Using this procedure, mice typically consume enough ethanol to achieve BECs greater than 100 mg/dl and to exhibit behavioral evidence of intoxication. An alternative 2-bottle (ethanol and water) procedure is also described.

Extended Amygdala to Ventral Tegmental Area Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Circuit Controls Binge Ethanol Intake

“…Binge-like ethanol consumption was induced using a standard 4-d DID protocol (22, 23). Approximately 3h into the dark cycle, home cage water bottles were removed and animals were given access to a bottle containing 20% ethanol for 2h on days 1-3 (Training Days, TD), and for 2-4h on day 4 (Binge Test, BT).…”

Assessment of the Effects of 6 Standard Rodent Diets on Binge-Like and Voluntary Ethanol Consumption in Male C57BL/6J Mice

“…After two-weeks of acclimation to the designated diet and the vivarium, cohort one was subjected to the DID paradigm, a well-established model of binge-like ethanol consumption (Thiele and Navarro, 2014, Thiele et al, 2014). Briefly, three hours into the dark cycle, home-cage water bottles were replaced with modified sipper-tubes that were created as described in Thiele et al (2014) that were filled with 20% (v/v) ethanol made from a solution of 95% ethanol (Decon Labs, King of Prussia, PA) and tap water.…”

“…Briefly, three hours into the dark cycle, home-cage water bottles were replaced with modified sipper-tubes that were created as described in Thiele et al (2014) that were filled with 20% (v/v) ethanol made from a solution of 95% ethanol (Decon Labs, King of Prussia, PA) and tap water. During the first three days, animals were allotted two-hours of access to ethanol; however, on the fourth (test) day, ethanol consumption (g/kg) was measured after four-hours of access.…”

Evidence that Melanocortin Receptor Agonist Melanotan-II Synergistically Augments the Ability of Naltrexone to Blunt Binge-Like Ethanol Intake in Male C57BL/6J Mice

“…For all the experiments, we used a 4-day DID procedure to generate binge-like ethanol drinking (Thiele et al, 2014). On days 1–3, beginning 3 hours into the dark cycle, water bottles were removed from all cages and replaced with a pre-weighted bottle containing 20% (v/v) ethanol solution.…”