Fig. 1. Intermittent access (IA) model produces escalated binge-like alcohol intake in adolescent mice.

(a) Timeline for the adolescent alcohol exposure. The IA procedure begins at age p30 and runs for 15 drinking sessions. Mice demonstrated an escalated average ethanol intake per session (b) and preference for ethanol over water (c). Data is from a group of 42 mice. (d) Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) values for 30 mice, measured 6 h after EtOH presentation during the 11th drinking session. Dashed line indicates 80 mg/dL, the threshold for binge alcohol consumption. (e) HIC scores were not significantly different between drinking and naïve mice (n = 6 mice per group) measured 8 and 12 h after peak BAC (corresponding to 2 and 6 h after removing EtOH) at the end of the 15th drinking session (p = 0.2 at 8 h; p = 0.5 at 12 h; two-tailed t-test). Dashed line indicates the minimum HIC score indicative of convulsive activity. (f) Total number of open arm entries and time spent in the open arms (g) did not differ in an elevated plus maze (f, p = 0.9; g, p = 0.6; two-tailed t-test). Error bars show SEM.