Cherish Ardinger

1 INTRODUCTION Frontloading is an alcohol drinking pattern where intake is skewed towards the onset of access which results in intoxication.1 As discussed in our recent review,1 we theorized that alcohol frontloading is driven by the rewarding effects of alcohol and, importantly, alcohol frontloading may predict long-term maladaptive alcohol drinking patterns leading to the development of alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Abstract Decreased functional connectivity between the striatum and frontal cortex is observed in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD), and predicts the probability of relapse in abstinent individuals with AUD.

Abstract Frontloading is an alcohol drinking pattern where intake is skewed toward the onset of access. The goal of the current study was to identify brain regions involved in frontloading. Whole brain imaging was performed in 63 C57Bl/6J (32 female and 31 male) mice that underwent 8 days of binge drinking using the drinking-in-the-dark (DID) model. On days 1-7, three hours into the dark cycle, mice received 20% (v/v) alcohol or water for two hours.