Reinstatement of ethanol and sucrose seeking by the neurosteroid allopregnanolone in C57BL/6 mice.

Rationale Recent work in our laboratory documented that the “sipper” method of operant ethanol self-administration produced high ethanol intake and blood ethanol concentrations as well as the typical extinction “burst” in responding under nonreinforced conditions in male C57BL/6 mice. However, the neurochemical basis for reinstatement of responding following extinction has not been examined in mice with this model.